Working for a wage in tech has been considerably of a wild trip in APAC lately.
First, there have been the growth occasions main into the yr 2022, when the widespread pursuit of digitisation initiatives following the height of the worldwide pandemic mixed with pervasive expertise shortages put tech expertise within the driver’s seat. Salaries rose, typically at very excessive charges.
Then, financial headwinds hit the worldwide tech market. This brought about an about-face in fortunes within the area, as hiring freezes and layoffs had been seen all through 2022 and 2023. The roles accessible and headline wage figures took a success as demand for tech roles dried up.
The excellent news is that 2024 is bringing again extra secure wage progress for tech employees. Recruiter Robert Half mentioned there may be 3-5% wage progress for tech employees total. In the meantime, larger wage will increase are being seen in high-demand segments like synthetic intelligence.
Digital transformation drove APAC tech salaries earlier than 2022
Robert Half director Melissa Lau, based mostly in Hong Kong, was an eyewitness to the distinctive will increase in tech salaries that occurred earlier than 2022. Again then, corporations throughout the area had been aggressively hiring tech expertise to speed up digital transformation efforts throughout varied industries. Hong Kong additionally served as a outstanding hub for crypto corporations.
“At the time, the supply of skilled individuals in the field fell short of meeting the required headcount, creating a talent shortage,” Lau informed TechRepublic. “As a result, salaries experienced an upward spike as companies competed to attract and retain the limited pool of highly skilled tech workers.”
APAC 2022 and 2023 tech wage crunch adopted world tech sector woes
From 2022, the tech market in APAC skilled some turbulence. The worldwide tech market ran right into a interval of “high inflation and elevated interest rates,” in response to one abstract from Deloitte, and macroeconomic uncertainty led to “softening consumer spending, lower product demand, falling market capitalisations and workforce reductions in 2022.”
This pattern continued into 2023. “Several companies implemented retrenchments that adversely affected a significant number of individuals in the tech industry,” Lau defined. The 2022 crypto crash, which slashed nearly three quarters from the worth of cryptocurrency Bitcoin on the time, additionally ended the heady rush for tech execs within the crypto business in Hong Kong, she mentioned.
FREE DOWNLOAD: TechRepublic’s high tech job predictions for 2024
Software program engineering salaries minimize in 2023
The Asia Tech Wage Report from expertise platform supplier NodeFlair famous the “challenges the industry faced, including layoffs and hiring freezes,” in Asia throughout 2023. Utilizing proprietary and exterior knowledge from six international locations in APAC, it discovered software program engineer salaries decreased by a mean of 0.99% throughout 2023, in comparison with a rise of seven.61% skilled in 2022.
Some software program engineering disciplines fared worse than others. For example, there was a 6.66% discount in salaries for recreation engineer positions. Salaries for options engineers dropped by 5.7%, blockchain engineers by 5.4% and DevOps execs by 2%.
The information was not all unhealthy; knowledge science roles bucked the pattern with 11.3% progress in salaries.
2024 is trying higher for tech salaries throughout APAC
Tech sector salaries seem to have stabilised in 2024. In reality, Robert Half has seen a return to extra regular, secure progress within the Hong Kong tech market. “The technology industry is showing signs of a gradual recovery after a decline in demand in 2023 caused by overhiring,” Lau mentioned.
Which means, broadly, tech employees can now count on wage will increase of between 3-5% if they continue to be at their present firm and don’t obtain a promotion. Those that do obtain promotions are receiving will increase ranging anyplace between 5% and 10%, Lau mentioned.
SEE: Tech Employee Wage Progress in Australia Has Normalised
Those that make an effort to seek out new employment are additionally able to make the most of larger will increase, albeit decrease than earlier than the wage crunch. Lau mentioned those that are altering positions might count on to be rewarded with wage will increase of between 5-15%.
NodeFlair, too, expects salaries to get well. “Salaries for tech employees, in general, are poised for recovery in 2024 as the economy rebounds. The growth rate may vary across different roles, with a strong emphasis on the increasing demand for AI and data science professionals.”
APAC tech employee salaries in 2024 rely on location
NodeFlair’s report confirmed the salaries employees command throughout APAC rely available on the market through which they reside. For example, the median month-to-month base wage of a lead software program engineer in Singapore is US $6,688, in contrast with US $1,937 in Vietnam.
The tech roles with the most effective potential for wage will increase in 2024
There are additionally variations in demand for various roles, with AI and knowledge science anticipated to guide wage progress in 2024. “This sector-specific surge in demand may lead to competitive salary offers to attract and retain top talents in these specialised fields,” NodeFlair mentioned.
AI and knowledge science
The worldwide rise of AI is driving hiring in Asian markets. NodeFlair’s report discovered salaries for knowledge scientists in any respect ranges rose by 11.3% year-on-year within the Singapore market throughout 2023, even amidst moribund demand for tech roles as an entire. Only one instance is that the wage for a center percentile lead knowledge scientist in Singapore has grown from S$12,500 per 30 days (US$9,234) in 2022 to S$14,187 per 30 days (US$10,480) in 2023, or 14%.
NodeFlair argued demand for abilities in areas like machine studying, pure language processing and knowledge evaluation can be crucial as companies recognise the transformative potential of AI.
Lau mentioned that is being mirrored in Robert Half knowledge displaying tech salaries rising in Hong Kong. “This can be attributed to the industry’s increasing focus on hiring AI professionals,” she defined. “As AI continues to advance and shape various sectors, companies are actively seeking skilled AI specialists, leading to a growing demand and subsequent rise in salaries.”
Cybersecurity
The continual progress and growing complexity of cyber threats are resulting in “extremely high demand” for cybersecurity professionals in Hong Kong and the area, Lau mentioned.
“Companies across industries are investing heavily in protecting their digital assets and customer data, driving up salaries for cybersecurity specialists.”
NodeFlair discovered that salaries for cybersecurity engineering roles grew by 8.24% year-on-year within the Singapore market between 2022 and 2023.
SEE: AI deepfakes rising as a threat for APAC organisations
Mission administration
As well as, IT undertaking administration is proving to be a profitable ability. Lau mentioned giant companies, like insurers or conglomerates, are providing enticing salaries for undertaking administration roles.
“These companies often require skilled professionals to oversee and lead large-scale projects such as system enhancements, upgrades, and business process reengineering, meaning their specialised expertise to manage these moving parts contributes to competitive salaries,” she mentioned.
