A new study has unveiled the highest-paying tech jobs in the UK in 2024.
The study, conducted by PCInternational, gathered a list of 30 jobs listed on the UK’s National Careers Service under the tech sector, paired with those listed on Indeed in the same field.
Each job was then assessed on Indeed’s salary calculator for the average yearly wage and then ranked from highest to lowest earners. Average wages were rounded to the nearest £100.
The study reveals that the solutions architect role is the highest earning, both making around £72,600 per year. According to Indeed, London has the highest average wage for a solutions architect (£80,445 on average), with Leeds coming in second (£75,898).
The second highest-paying is the back-end developer role, which earns £56,600 on average. Many different kinds of developers rank highly on this list, but those that deal with the sites of non-user-facing sectors are best paid. While London is also the highest payer (£72,652) for the role, Cambridge (£60,620) and Southampton (£58,856) are second and third.
Ranking as the third highest is data engineer, with an average earning of £55,100. According to Indeed, outside of London, the best-paying locations for the role are Cambridge (£62,719), Newcastle (£56,160), and Manchester (£53,376).
In fourth place is a full stack developer whose average wage stands at £53,100. Similar to a back-end developer, London is the highest paying area with Cambridge following suit, but Reading is the third-highest paying area with an average wage of £55,113 presently.
An IT security specialist is the fifth highest-paying tech role in the UK, earning £52,800 on average. Other than London, Reading pays the second highest for the role (£62,089), followed by Manchester (£58,398) and Cheltenham (£57,419).
In sixth place is a data scientist, who earns an average of £51,700. Data scientists will work with data produced by data engineers, but their focus is on analysing the data and projecting what it could mean. For this role, London is the highest payer (£61,503), followed by Birmingham (£48,308), and Manchester (£48,250).
Ranking in seventh place is IT project manager at £48,600. The role is the first on the list to be best paid outside of London, as Indeed reports Nottingham is the highest-paying location for the job at £53,696, followed by London (£52,327), and Milton Keynes (£52,025).
In eighth place is front-end developer, who earns £47,100, and in ninth is user experience (UX) designer at £46,000. Finishing off the list is software developer, with an average salary of £45,800.
Commenting on the findings, Jonathan Perumal, Chief Technical Officer of PCInternational, said: “The tech industry is booming currently and has been for the past few years. The average UK salary, according to the Office of National Statistics, is currently around £37,430 for full-time workers, but with many of these tech jobs, employees can easily exceed this amount.
“Over the past decade, the government has made significant efforts to encourage more women to pursue careers in tech and STEM fields, which have historically been male-dominated. By early 2024, these initiatives appeared to be making an impact, with the percentage of women in the tech sector rising to 26%, up from 19% in 2019. Programs like the Home Office’s Digital Data & Technology Women in Tech initiative have played a key role in driving this progress, aiming to attract more women into the industry.
“The high salaries in tech reflect both the demand for skilled professionals and the rapid pace of technological innovation driving the economy. For those considering a career in tech, now is an excellent time to gain the necessary skills and apply yourself to the sector.”
