The IT recruitment agency, Next Technology Professionals, has prepared the 3rd edition of the report on the IT job market in Poland. Thanks to the analysis of 130,000 job offers and the collection of opinions from 922 IT specialists, it was possible to formulate conclusions that allow us to learn more about salaries in IT, technologies in job offers and trends related to recruitment processes in the IT industry.
In order to systematize the data, the IT recruitment agency decided to use the division presented below, both in the survey and in the report itself to determine the seniority level:
- Trainee – currently on internship
- Junior – up to 2 years of professional experience
- Mid – 2 – 4 years of professional experience
- Senior – 4 – 10 years of professional experience
- Expert – over 10 years of professional experience
52% of Polish IT specialists would like to be paid in a foreign currency
In Poland, 90% of IT specialists declared in the survey that they earn in Polish zloty, although only 48% of respondents indicated that it is their most preferred currency. A year ago, only 34% indicated preference for the Polish zloty. However, currently the proportions are as follows: 48% prefer remuneration in Polish zlotys, and 52% in foreign currencies. Regarding foreign currency preferences, the most frequently indicated is the Euro (preferred by 35% of people, in 2022 it was 31%), followed by the American Dollar, which dropped from the first position among foreign currencies.
77% of IT specialists are open to change their jobs
In 2023, in Poland, most job offers were addressed to people referred to in the industry as Mid (46%). The second most frequently searched group were Seniors (43%), and the third most frequently searched group were Juniors (8%).
Satisfaction with the remuneration received can be seen in the chart below. However, despite general satisfaction with remuneration, IT specialists are more open to the possibility of changing jobs than in 2022 (77%). Moreover, as many as 51% of people are ready to change jobs if they receive an interesting offer.
IT specialists changed jobs less often in 2023 (decrease by 8 pp.)
Compared to 2022, there was an increase in the number of IT specialists who decided not to change employers. Despite general satisfaction among employees, the reasons for the recent job change remained largely unchanged. On the podium were “inadequate remuneration” (19%), “lack of development opportunities” (17%) and “willingness to change” (13%). The ranking also included “unsatisfactory projects” (11%) and “no possibility of promotion” (6%).
There was less remote work in job offers (decrease by 3 pp.)
58% of job offers included the possibility of working completely remotely – that’s 3 pp. less than last year.
55% of IT specialists prefer completely remote work, which appears in 58% of job offers. 67% of IT specialists work completely remotely, but only 55% of them indicate this mode as the most optimal solution. There is an increase in interest in hybrid work, but remote work is also a desirable option for IT specialists (and was also indicated as the most important benefit).
In practice, not all IT specialists had to return to offices
The trend that IT specialists have to give up remote work entirely in favor of hybrid/stationary work turned out to be just an echo. Most IT specialists were not required to return to the office (84%), only 16% of respondents increased the number of days they worked from the office.
Less job offers from the United States
In the survey, IT specialists were asked where the headquarters of the company in which they currently work is located – 60% of them are in Poland, while 40% are abroad.
Compared to 2022, the positions of existing foreign locations have decreased significantly. Taking into account only foreign countries, the most frequently cited were the USA (11% [decrease by 11 pp. compared to 2022]), Great Britain (6%) and Germany (4%).
As for the number of offers from these countries, most of them came from Germany (21%), Great Britain (8%) and the Czech Republic (6%). It is worth noting that the share of offers from the United States among foreign offers dropped from 9% to 3%.
Polish IT specialists and their salaries
In 2023, the most sought-after specialists were Quality Assurance (QA) Engineer, DevOps Engineer, Fullstack Developer, Data Scientist, Frontend Developer, Administrator and System Architect. Most job offers in 2023 were addressed to Mids, i.e. people with 2-4 years of experience.
The table below shows the salaries for Mids. Complete data for each experience level, broken down into offered and received salary, can be found in the full version of the report.
The largest salary ranges apply to Google Cloud Platform, Amazon Web Services and Azure
We checked 16 selected technologies in terms of average earnings offered in job offers. People who mentioned knowledge of the following technologies or tools could count on the highest salary in such a ranking: Google Cloud Platform (PLN 26,555*), Amazon Web Services (PLN 26,298*) and Azure (PLN 25,726*).
*maximum ranges in job offers
IT specialists expect a salary increase of 22% on average when changing jobs
IT specialists employed in B2B and CoE expect a salary increase of 22% on average when changing jobs. That is, their requirements decreased by 3 pp. The highest expectations (30%) regarding an increase in the current salary have people with over 10 years of experience (level: Expert) who cooperate on a B2B basis.
Only Experts employed on B2B contract received higher salary than those presented in advertisements
In our study, we checked whether the rates given in job offers coincide with the actual earnings of IT specialists. It turned out that in 2023, the average salary received, depending on the level of experience, was within the ranges offered in the job offers, with the exception of Experts employed on B2B contract, who received higher salary than that offered in the ranges.
65% of IT specialists prefer a 2-stage recruitment process
For another year in a row, IT specialists would like to participate less often in 3-stage or longer recruitment processes. This group most prefers 2-stage recruitment and this number of stages is also on the podium in the context of the declared actual number of stages of the recruitment process. Moreover, this answer largely corresponds to reality – half of IT specialists (50%) joined their current company after passing 2 stages.
Technical interview, HR/business interview and remote assignment are most often preferred
According to IT specialists, the most preferred form of competence verification is a technical interview (30%), HR/business interview (18%) and remote/homework task (17%).
Remote work, flexible working time and medical packages are of the greatest importance, apart from earnings
The most preferred benefits were the ability to work remotely (78%), flexible working hours (64%), medical package (33%) and a 4-day working week (31%). Additional days of leave also ranked high (30%), which indicates the need for the employee to rest and allocate more time for private life.
Do you want to learn more about the IT industry in Poland? Download the full report.