In this blog we explore Software Engineer salaries in Ireland. The average Java Developer working in Dublin today earns just under €72,000. This is a little higher than the rest of Ireland. If you compare that to other major IT hubs around Europe, a Java Developer for example in Berlin will earn around €50,000. In Barcelona would be just under that at €45,000. Amsterdam which is considered one of the best IT hubs in Europe to work comes in around €65,000. So Software Engineer salaries in Ireland are a little higher then the major IT hubs in Europe. Those working in London can expect an average salary at around £63,000. Please note this is only considering those with a Java Developer title, so we are not considering Junior Java Engineers, Senior Java, Lead Java etc. Salaries for Software Engineers vary hugely. We recently did a campaing for Mid – Senior Level Software Engineer in Ireland and the salary demand ranged from €50,000 to €130,000. its safe to say Software Engineer salaries in Ireland remain compeditive but high.
So, I ask myself why are Software Engineer salaries so high in the IT job market in Dublin?
I could answer this question in a few words, supply and demand! But why is the demand for this expensive resource so high? And why do companies continue to see Ireland as such an attractive place to put down roots? These are a few of the areas that I will explore in this blog and try concluding as to why salaries are out of control in the IT job market.
First, lets explore the job market and the people working in the IT sector.
In Ireland in 2022, there are over 2 and a half million people employed in Ireland, according to the central statistics office of Ireland, out of that 2.5 million people around 270,000 are employed in the digital sector, that does take into account folks like me, being a Recruiter. Folks working in Customer Service, Sales, Accounts etc. Out of that 270,000 there are an estimated 80,000 actual Technical Engineers, the stats start to get a little hazy at this point, but a crude LinkedIn search gave me results of around 18,000 actual Software Engineers (of all levels) working in Ireland in 2022.
So what Tech companies are in Ireland?
Starting with the Irish so-called Unicorns, these are the companies with valuations in excess of €1 Billion. The likes of BrowserStack, Wayflyer, Intercom, Workhuman, LetsGetChecked to name a few are the most recent to the exclusive list. In Ireland these companies alone hire around 400 Software Engineers that have accounts on Linkedin anyway. Ireland and more specifically the IDA has attracted some of the biggest names in Tech, these date back as early as 1956 with IBM setting up a small office, today in their campus in Dublin they employee 3,000 people (300-400 Software Engineers), with another 200 planned for 2023-2024 as they shift focus to hybrid cloud and AI products to be developed in Dublin. The Likes of Apple arrived in in the 1980’s in Cork and expanded there presence here ever since. Social Media Giants Google, Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin also are major employers in the Software space with 1000s employed by those alone. Let’s not forget Amazon, Microsoft, Dell, Intel, Dropbox, Salesforce, SAP the list goes on and most of us will recognise those companies. The continues to grow year on year with an estimated 8000 new jobs in Software Engineering expected year on year.
Why is Ireland so attractive to IT companies?
- We speak English
- Large community of businesses focused specifically on IT
- IT is integrated with many industries such as Medical, Financial and Insurance
- Ireland has one of the youngest and most educated populations in Europe
- Great infrastructure and very reliable connection speeds
- Very accessible, even though we are an Island nation, getting to Ireland has never been easier.
Tight employment market leads to talent wars with the rich multi-nationals!
Exploring the salary subject more, it has never been easier to find Software Engineers, largely because of the likes of Linkedin, Twitter, Github etc. The hard part is getting said Software Engineers interested in moving company or country (ill go into that in more detail shortly, also see this blog). Companies today work hard on retaining staff. Some leading tech firms offer everything from free food to karaoke bars in the office and complete office set up with lunch vouchers at home. Of course, the last few years has altered this with Covid pushing more and more of the workforce to work from home.
The average tenure across the globe for Software Engineers is a little over 4 years, in Ireland that would be slightly less. I recall when I was growing up it was strange for someone to change job, once you had a job it was a job for life. How times have changed. So, there is movement of talent on a regular basis but there is so many options. Today for example on Indeed or LinkedIn there is over 1,800 Software Engineer jobs.
There is an active job seeker (looking for a job, applying for jobs etc) and a passive job seeker (could be tempted, not applying to jobs, but having conversations). There is a good 2,000-3,000 people in these categories at any one moment in time. They will generally be well paid. If they are not at the average salary mentioned above. Its fair to say they could have their head turned. This would explain why wage inflation has been growing aggressively over the last few years. Growth that took place during the Covid pandemic does explain htat period, but as things settle so will Software Engineer salaries in Ireland. We are seeing some stabilisation in jobs. We have seen lots of redundancies over the last few years, but the talent gap remains.
The likes of Meta, Microsoft, X, Amazon have been and continue to lay people off. Alot of these lay offs have not been Software Engineers in Ireland. More in HR, Talent, Sales etc. We have seen some folks in the Software space leave. Now these are the people that are the highest paid in the industry. So will their availability likely reduce salaries, perhaps not. Because there are still an abundance of businesses hiring Software Engineers.
To conclude:
Wage inflation will slow from the dramatic 15-20%. Growth in the sector is slowing but still growing. Companies are trying ways to attract people, read this blog around equity for example. I think salaries will always remain high for Software Engineers due to how scares the talent is. Options for outsourcing is also an option. For example, in India a graduate Software Engineer would be paid around €10,000. In Ireland that figure is closer to €50,000. Until the schools and universities can attract more people into the sector. The next 5 years will see continued wage inflation. Unless there is another lock down of course.
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