5 Steps to Boosting Your Salary in the Tech Sector

Finding a career you love is something we all hope to achieve, and a career in IT is a popular choice for many. Working in IT boasts a whole range of benefits, from lots of career development opportunities to flexible working patterns, but one of the first things most people consider is the potential to earn a lot of money.

IT and tech can offer a route to a high wage, with 57% of roles offering more than £40,000 a year, and is in the top five fastest paths to earning £100,000 or more out of the ten core industries in the UK. But what can tech workers do to achieve their high earning potential, and which steps can they take to speed up that process?

Before embarking on courses to boost your CV or jumping into a meeting with your manager, take the time to step back and consider your current strengths. Think about the things you have done in your IT career so far, including the tasks you have performed, the knowledge you’ve gained, and the skills you have developed. 

Don’t forget to add soft skills, such as communication skills, teamwork skills, and time management, as these are essential qualities that can make an employee irreplaceable. This will enable you to highlight to management why you deserve a boost in salary with concrete examples of what you bring to your role, and it will also help you identify any gaps in your skills or knowledge base. 

If you do have gaps that you want to fill, then the next step can help you build up those skills and add to your list of strengths.

Programming is one of the most lucrative and well-paid areas of the tech sector, but which programming languages earn the highest salary? Each language has its own earning potential, with every language offering a different route to a higher salary.

Entry-level Python developers can command respectable salaries, but where Python truly shines is the potential for those skilled in frameworks such as Django or libraries like Pandas for data analysis. Specialisation pushes the needle, with data scientists and machine learning engineers enjoying some of the highest salaries in the field. Exploring Python courses can be a straightforward way to create a path towards a higher wage. 

Java’s ubiquity means plenty of jobs, and its preference in corporate environments often translates to higher salaries. Seasoned Java developers, particularly those specialising in enterprise applications, regularly earn the top pay brackets. For those who need to grow their skills in this area, online courses in Java are a quick and easy way to achieve this goal.

Entry-level positions in front-end development offer a foothold in the industry, but JavaScript’s true salary appeal lies in mastery. Those who also become adept in frameworks such as React or Angular or libraries like jQuery can climb the financial ladder with impressive speed.

Salaries for C# developers vary greatly depending on their area of focus. Unity game developers, for example, often find themselves in high demand and comfortably sit among some of the more substantial paychecks in programming.

The general consensus is that PHP salaries tend to be lower compared to some of the more specialised and in-demand languages. However, there’s still healthy earning potential for those who become experts in maintaining and updating legacy PHP applications or who combine PHP with in-demand databases like MySQL.

As new technology trends develop and the technological world changes, in-demand skills also change. Knowing what skills employers are looking for right now means that you can get ahead of the game and make yourself a highly desirable employee deserving of a salary boost. 

Whether you plan to stay in your current role, change positions or apply for jobs elsewhere, increase your desirability to employers by knowing what they are on the lookout for. For example, many organisations are now on the hunt for cybersecurity experts after it was revealed that over 87% of UK companies are vulnerable to a cybersecurity breach.

Therefore, cybersecurity courses are becoming increasingly popular not only among employees looking to upskill but also among employers wanting their employees to have a greater understanding of cybersecurity. 

Furthermore, obtaining a qualification through Ethical Hacking courses can make you even more of an asset, with certified ethical hackers in high demand due to the increase in risk of hackers holding data for ransom. 

Furthermore, the influence in AI within the global jobs market means that those with skills in this area could be highly rewarded for their skills in this increasingly important area of tech. Exploring Artificial Intelligence courses can be a simple way to brush up your skills in this area, find artificial intelligence job opportunities and forge a path towards a more lucrative salary. 

Finally, gaining skills in high-reward niche areas such as cryptocurrencies can be achieved through studying Blockchain courses online.

It is not just the new skills areas you will want to focus on when wanting to increase your salary, but also the skills you currently have. 

Now that you have a list of your strengths, as well as some new skills, in-demand skills, and knowledge that you want to add to your skill set, consider levelling up your established skills. 

Online learning, such as Microsoft courses, are available to people of all skill levels, from introductory courses in Microsoft Project introduction courses to intermediate and advanced level MPS Project packages, so you can study at the next level up to gain a more in-depth understanding. Other course areas, such as Computer courses offer qualification levels from Functional Skills IT Level 2 all the way up to Bachelors in Computing, a Postgraduate Certificate in Computer Science, and a Masters in Computing and Technology. 

In addition to in-depth qualifications, there are a variety of shorter courses you can study at various levels, such as Software Development courses in DevOps, where you can study the DevOps foundation and then the DevOps leader course.

For those not working in the sector, a question often raised is ‘Why are tech salaries so high?’ as non-tech workers wonder why employees in this industry command such high pay checks. One of the key reasons why is that employees know how to negotiate a salary in tech that matches their expertise and skill level. 

Whether you want to discuss a salary increase with your current manager or are keen to explore new jobs elsewhere, knowing what you bring to the table and how to communicate what you want is key. When responding to a job offer from a new employer, knowing your value and being able to justify your salary range by demonstrating the skills and experience you have from your career path is vital.

Tech professionals seeking to secure a pay increase in their current job should also consider their market value and how they can leverage their key skills and demonstrate how their hard work benefits the company and could justify a better compensation package when entering a salary negotiation.

Before discussing salary with your new or current boss, see what the Do’s and Don’ts of negotiating a pay rise are, and make sure you have researched what the usual salaries are for people with your experience and knowledge. 

Tech is a worldwide industry, and employers know that they can be out-beaten by larger players when it comes to salary, so being confident and aware of your worth in the market can secure you a hefty pay rise.