London remains the best place in the UK for IT workers to live if they want to maximise their earnings potential with a 9% salary premium for those in the capital, research from Randstad Technologies has found.
This means they are being paid £5,211 more than they might expect given their location and profession highlighting how well IT workers are doing compared to the rest of the UK.
It also revealed that Scotland offers a comparative salary premium for IT workers, who earn £20,188, significantly more than the average UK IT worker salary £17,411.
Ruth Jacobs, managing director of Randstad Technologies, said: “Not only are average salaries higher in London, but Tech workers are paid a higher wage compared to their peers, meaning they earn more relative to their neighbours than in other regions.
“If you work in the Technology sphere, it makes sense to look at the opportunities on offer in the capital, because IT workers are held in high esteem in this area. You get a premium for working in London and a premium for working in IT. You’ll get paid more, and you’ll also get the added benefit of being higher up the social pecking order.
“In the capital, demand for skilled IT workers is extremely high, distorting the salaries on offer upwards. Not only is London home to plenty of start-up incubators, but it’s also a thriving global business centre, and all of the largest companies in the capital need strong tech talent to function. This means that the range, as well as the number, of IT jobs on offer in London is broad; there are plenty of IT security jobs, network engineer jobs as well as a whole host of other options up for grabs, all with excellent salaries attached.”
Midlands and Northern Ireland
The results also showed that IT workers in Northern Ireland have the most distorted salaries within the sector – and are comparatively hugely underpaid.
In this region, IT workers earn just £10,018 more than the regional average. This means they are being paid £7,392 less than they might expect given their location and profession – a salary discount of 22% – highlighting how badly IT workers are doing relative to the rest of Northern Ireland.
IT workers are also undervalued – comparatively – across the Midlands, and are paid an average of 15% lower than would be expected in the East Midlands, and 13% lower than expected in the West Midlands.
Jacobs said: “The results of our comprehensive CV analysis have also allowed us to pin-point the areas Tech workers should avoid. If you’re a techie based in the North – with Scotland the exception – you’re being grossly undervalued, and it could really be worth your while moving south.
“In London and the Home Counties, IT workers are highly sought after, but in the Midlands and Northern Ireland they aren’t placed on the same pedestal. If you’re a tech worker in Northern Ireland, then a move to London could see you climb several rungs up the social ladder, as well as benefiting from more money on offer.
“And with research showing that keeping up with the Joneses – and having an income that ranks highly compared to your peers – has a positive effect on health and wellbeing, climbing the social ranks and salary stakes with one tactical relocation often makes sense.”
The study analysed more than 870,000 CVs and their associated pay looking at typical salaries across a variety of sectors to compare them with average salaries in that region. This included more than 177,300 CVs of IT workers specifically.