Best paying technology jobs in the UK

In its latest study, Emolument.com analysed salaries from 5,800 UK employees working in technology jobs. Results show that seniority still pays despite the focus on generation y and z: the more experience, the higher the salary. The study also puts into light the unprecedented need for data scientists, who despite their lack of experience are among the best paid technology employees.

Rank Job Median Salary Average Experience
1 Enterprise Architecture £65,000 14
2 Programme Management £65,000 12
3 IT Security £59,000 12
4 Product Management £58,000 10
5 Data Science £53,000 6
6 Business Analysis £50,000 10
7 Service Delivery £50,000 10
8 Software Development £45,000 8
9 Project Management £43,000 9
10 UX Design £41,000 8
11 Infrastructure / Sys Admin £40,000 11
12 Testing & Quality Assurance £40,000 8
13 Database Administration £37,000 11
14 Data Analysis £37,000 7
15 Digital Marketing £34,000 6
16 IT Support £30,000 9

Data science, the rising star: Despite little experience (6 years on average), data scientists earn £53,000, ranking 5 out of 16. The exponential need for AI and machine learning expertise combined with a dearth of candidates are the primary causes for this salary inflation.

 

Coding not required : Two of the four best paying jobs (programme management and product management) do not require advanced coding skills, despite being closely associated with with developers.

 

High experience, high stakes, high pay: Top 3 best paying jobs also require the most experience (average experience of enterprise architects is 14 years). Two of these jobs (enterprise architecture and programme management) involve supervising and coordinating numerous stakeholders, requiring advanced managerial and planning skills thereby justifying high salaries. IT security professionals may not have similar responsibilities, but have a critical role to play as their mistakes can have damaging consequences.

 

Forever junior? Digital marketing (£34,000) and data analysis  (£37,000) roles are among the lowest paying technology jobs: novel functions, they are mostly occupied by junior professionals. It remains to be seen if as these jobs and employees mature, their remuneration will also grow, or if these jobs will still be considered as junior operational positions.

 

Alice Leguay, Co-Founder & CMO at Emolument said: 'Nowadays, experienced developers can name their price as companies struggle to meet demand, and desperately require more bandwidth. Staying ahead of the curve, or on the curve at least, is essential for businesses to retain customer confidence, especially in the finance and retail spaces. The good news though is that these jobs are based on competencies which can be acquired independently from a university degree, either on the job (digital marketing) or through online courses, which means that doors remain open for professionals to move from one specialism to the next, thereby keeping up with trends and demand. An exciting new outlook for personal development.'

 

 

Emolument provides bonus and salary statistics based on data submitted directly by professionals like you. It is free, anonymous, and already a trusted tool for thousands of professionals worldwide. Are you paid enough? Click here to find out now.


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