Best tech jobs for new starters - Q1 2023
We know the IT market is an attractive one to work in, offering high salaries, independent working and flexible locations and hours. But it's also highly competitive and confusing. Understanding where to start gaining the skills you need to progress - and what they'll lead to later in your career - can be difficult.
That's why Computing has joined forces with IT recruitment specialist Harvey Nash to present a quarterly update of the market for entry-level tech roles in the UK.
Below you'll find an analysis of the jobs market in the last quarter; the most in-demand roles for new starters; the most common skills they require; and their average starting salaries.
Three months to January 2023
On the surface, and looking at headlines, it appears that the tech industry is experiencing challenges with layoff announcements hitting the headlines on a regular basis.
However, these headlines concern, for the most part, the major tech giants, who significantly increased headcount during the pandemic to meet growing customer demand.
Delving underneath the figures a number of these redundancies do not in fact involve technical roles, or very specific areas such as product managers.
In fact, data from the Office for National Statistics for the quarter up to December 2022, shows that the number of people employed in the IT and Communication sector in the UK remained relatively stable, and up on December 2021 (1.66 million vs 1.58 million), though slightly down on the prior quarter.
Regionally there is some variance, however the net impact is low, demand for tech skills remains strong, and those entering the market should have confidence.
This is further backed up by Harvey Nash's parent company, Nash Squared's, latest Digital Leadership Report, where 58% of digital leaders confirmed intentions to grow headcount over the coming year.
Entry level roles and skills currently in demand include, according to global technology recruiter Harvey Nash, include:
- Infrastructure (36% of all entry level vacancies)
- Data/BI/Analytics (13% of all entry level vacancies)
- Software engineering (13% of all entry level vacancies)
Typical roles for these disciplines include:
- Infrastructure roles: System managers; ITOC analysts; platform engineers; support engineers; Sys admin. These tend to be a precursor to cloud and DevOps roles.
- Data/BI/Analytic roles: Data analysts; data scientists; business intelligence developers; data developers/engineers
- Software engineers: JavaScript developers; C#, Python and full stack engineers.
When recruiting for these roles, employers are looking for:
Infrastructure roles
A good understanding of a wide range of operating systems hardware/software. Excellent problem-solving skills and strong verbal and written communication.
Depending on the sector and size of the business a willingness for shift work can also be helpful, as these roles often are critical to the smooth running of businesses.
Data/BI/analytics roles
Strong attention to detail, excellent analytical skills - for example spotting patterns in data and an ability to turn data into actionable insights. Also a good understanding of data - in particular data security/cyber awareness; understand what data you have and how you secure it.
Software engineers
Experience of software programmes such as PHP, JavaScript, SQL, TSQL. CSS and HTML. Key attributes include being natural problem solvers, strong understanding of programming, critical thinking and being customer- and solution focused.
Employers are looking for candidates who constantly evolve their knowledge stay up to date/at the bleeding edge.
Average salaries for these roles start from:
- Infrastructure: £31,000
- Data/BI/analytics: £36,000
- Software engineering: £38,000
The above salaries do not take into consideration regional variations. For example, London salaries tend to be higher.
Viewpoint on locations
Remote working has made location less of a factor as organisations continue to grapple with the increased cost of salaries.