Should IT professionals trust pay rises in Russia?
The IT sector is leading among other sectors in terms of wage growth in 2022 and this trend will continue next year, SuperJob told socialbites.ca.
On average, the salaries of IT specialists in Moscow increased by 16.5% during the year.
According to SuperJob, performance in other areas is more modest: the income of specialists in construction and banking increased by 14.7% and 11.3%, respectively.
Engineers, software developers and project managers (product/project management) were among the top three most in-demand fields in technology companies in 2022. Slightly less popular among companies are specialists in software implementation and maintenance, systems administration, analytics, information security / information protection.
Sergei Strelkov (industry digitization), CTO of Bimeister IT company, believes that in 2023 a smooth increase in salaries in the information technology industry should be expected.
“I bet on insignificant growth [в 2023 году] on average salary, about 10%,” socialbites.ca said.
Strelkov said that salaries in IT have always been increasing, but after the announcement of the partial mobilization, the demands of many specialists became more modest.
“For example, if the employer provides the possibility to work completely remotely, the applicants do not extol their wishes. The preference for ‘immigrants’ may have drastically diminished,” he said.
Which specialists will receive more than others?
Despite the popularity of online programming courses, SuperJob believes that programmers’ salary levels are clearly dependent on the “complexity” and “prestige” of the university they graduated from.
The highest average salaries in IT in 2022 are among graduates of Moscow State University Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. Lomonosov, ITMO, MEPhI and MSTU. NE Bauman.
Superjob also noted that of all businesses and companies, the most voluminous compensation packages were in IT.
“Employers in the information technology field more frequently than employers in other industries organize employee training, corporate events, and provide the opportunity to connect to the VHI system,” the service said.
According to Bimeister’s Strelkov, we should expect “maintenance of the precarious situation” in 2023. According to him, four factors will influence the choice of a workplace.
“The ability to work remotely is the most popular question and factor in decision making. I see many resumes where the reason for leaving the current job was the lack of a remote mode,” he said.
Strelkov described payments in foreign currency as an extremely important factor. According to him, they can become one of the perks when trying to persuade a qualified professional to join his company.
The other two factors required in 2023 are the stability of the employer, i.e. the availability of funding sources and flexibility in job application.
Are big salaries worth the wait for “Junam”?
Salaries for junior specialists at IT companies in Moscow on hand (after taxes) and without additional assistance and compensation in 2023 are expected in the range from 90 thousand to 130 thousand rubles.
According to SuperJob, a PHP programmer will be able to earn 90-120 thousand rubles, just like a Python programmer. At the same time, Ruby and C++ developers can count on a slightly higher starting amount. The “fork” of their salary is expected to be around 100-120 thousand rubles.
A “joon” (junior developer) might be at his best with Java. Java programmers can expect a salary of around 100-130 thousand rubles.
According to Strelkov of Bimeister, DevOps engineers in 2023 have the widest range in salary expectations (a specialist in synchronizing development stages is socialbites.ca). “For example, a middle-senior qualification specialist has requests from 200 to 700 thousand rubles,” said the technical director of an IT company.
He noted that in 2023 a small developer should expect a salary of around 150-200 thousand rubles. He also said that developers with extensive work experience can apply for higher salaries.
In C#/.Net or Angular/JavaScript, an architect, lead developer (team leader) can earn about 400-500 thousand rubles, and a senior developer – 300-350 thousand rubles.
At the same time, an intermediate developer (novice, but experienced) – about 250-300 thousand rubles. A senior systems analyst can count on 300-350 thousand rubles, and a systems analyst – 250-300 thousand rubles.
Strelkov believes that testers will receive less than developers in 2023. According to him, a QA engineer should expect a salary of about 150-250 thousand rubles.
Staff shortage will continue
Alexei Zakharov, Head of SuperJob and Head of the RAEK/Kadry cluster, told socialbites.ca that the Russian IT industry will face a shortage of qualified specialists at the beginning of 2023.
“The shortage of highly skilled programmers will continue, and the demand for junior specialists is likely to decline as the demand for novice experts naturally declines in times of crisis,” he said.
According to Zakharov, companies will try to motivate employees who continue to work remotely. He stated that the IT industry got used to this way of working before the pandemic and has experience in solving problems in such cases. However, the current realities also play a role in the departure of many professionals from the country. According to Maksut Shadayev, head of the Russian Ministry of Digital Development, about 100 thousand IT professionals have left Russia since the beginning of 2022.
The head of the department assured that, despite the country change for residence, 80% of the departed citizens still continue to work in domestic companies.
The Ministry of Digital Development also criticized the possible ban on teleworking.
The department is confident that this will lead to a decrease in Russia’s competitiveness and may lead to a slowdown in the development of the IT industry.
“Ultimately, the winner will be the one who can attract the most talented staff, including those located abroad,” the digital ministry added.