How much can experience boost a tech salary?
That’s a key question addressed in Dice’s latest Tech Salary Report. Salary data from thousands of tech professionals shows what you probably suspect: the more years you’ve spent in tech, the higher your average pay. What’s more surprising is the dip in salaries that some newer tech professionals experienced between 2022 and 2023; take a look at the chart:
What’s behind this decline? The spikes in layoffs and global market uncertainty that defined 2023 might have depressed salaries for those with fewer years of experience. Considering more than 200,000 tech workers were laid off in 2023, it is unsurprising to see less-experienced workers were most impacted by salary reductions; traditionally, new hires (along with highly-paid individuals) are the most susceptible to layoffs.
When looking at the nearly 8 percent salary decrease of those with three to five years of experience, it is important to remember that this group greatly benefitted from the hiring boom and salary surge of 2021. Hopefully, any tech professionals hired during that surge, only to find themselves out of a job in mid-2023, used that intervening period to boost their skills and certifications. In the meantime, newer tech professionals just entering the market may want to temper their expectations, as many companies aren’t paying the same salaries as a few years ago when their coffers were flush.
We also noticed that those with more than five years of experience saw a notable increase in compensation on average, a fact that supports the notion that years of experience and upskilling still offer substantial value to tech professionals.
For more information on tech salaries, we’ve broken down the Tech Salary Report into the following sections for your reading pleasure:
Always remember that, no matter how long you’ve worked in tech, you can boost your compensation and benefits packages by focusing on specialized skills, recognizing new opportunities, and negotiating effectively.
