Engineers and cyber talent earn big bucks as other tech workers suffer
The days of double-digit pay rises appear to be over for most technology workers as the industry undergoes what some recruiters have dubbed a “correction”.
Typical day rates for the majority of roles included in the latest Hays IT Contractor Rates Guide barely changed over the past 12 months as employers scaled back their hiring plans after a frenetic start to 2022.
Recruiter Adam Shapley says the tech recruitment market is undergoing a “correction”.
But while rates for most IT contractors failed to keep up with inflation, some roles registered significant increases as companies sharpened their focus on software development and cybersecurity.
After high-profile attacks at Optus and Medibank underscored the importance of having robust IT systems, day rates surged for professionals tasked with simulating cyberattacks on computer systems to identify vulnerabilities before hackers can exploit them.
These “penetration testers” now command a typical day rate that is 12 per cent higher than it was a year ago, after demand for their skills outstripped their supply.
Adam Shapley, managing director of technology solutions for Hays in Australia and New Zealand, said pay had also increased substantially for test and quality assurance managers and software developers.
As the broader market underwent “a correction”, typical day rates for these contractors increased by 7 per cent and 6 per cent respectively, he said.
‘Cost of software failures can be high’
“The need for test and quality assurance managers is driven by the need for high-quality, secure and reliable software in an environment of rapidly evolving technology and increasing customer expectations,” Mr Shapley said.
“Employers are prioritising this, and these professionals play a critical role in maintaining software quality and continuous improvement, especially since the cost of software failures can be high in terms of both financial losses [and] damage to an organisation’s reputation.”
Mr Shapley said the recent developments in artificial intelligence had also fuelled increased demand for software developers.
According to Hays, typical day rates for penetration testers now range between $800 and $1100, depending on where they live, while cybersecurity architects typically fetch between $1100 and $1300 a day, and cybersecurity analysts get between $720 and $960.
Test and QA managers, meanwhile, command typical day rates of $880 to $1100. And full-stack engineers can expect to earn between $780 and $1020 a day.
Pay up 20pc for some cyber roles
Jed Gladwin, founder of specialist cybersecurity recruitment agency StraightUp, said average day rates for the roles he recruits for had risen by an average of about 20 per cent over the past year.
He said increased regulation from government and industry bodies – in addition to recent high-profile attacks – had pushed up demand for cybersecurity professionals among a wide range of employers looking to beef up their security systems.
“It seems like every other week there’s a breach occurring in the industry,” Mr Gladwin said.
“So that’s really putting the spotlight on cybersecurity. It’s making company directors in particular get a lot more nervous about it.”
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