Why junior software developer salaries are decreasing
Google released its Africa Developer Ecosystem Report for 2021, and it revealed that while the average salary for software developers increased, junior developers saw their pay drop.
According to the report, the average annual income for junior developers dropped from $13,000 (R197,000) in 2020 to $11,800 (R179,000) in 2021 — a decrease of around 9%.
Google attributed the decline to an “oversupply of junior developers and perceived lower competence levels”.
Google’s Africa Developer Ecosystem Report analyses software developer populations, salaries, and demographics in 16 African countries.
In addition to the changes in pay trends, the report also revealed that the developer population in South Africa had grown almost 2% in 2021 — from 119,000 in 2020 to 121,000 in 2021.
Over the same period, the whole continent saw its developer population grow 3.8%, from 690,000 to 716,000.
Google’s report also showed that local and international organisations’ demand for African developers had increased.
It attributed this to the emergence of more African tech startups and the transition to remote working caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The continent’s tech startups raised $4.3 billion (R65 billion) in 2021 — 2.5 times more than 2020.
Google’s results corroborate OfferZen’s recently released State of the Software Developer Nation report.
It showed that the average salary for developers with four years of experience or less had decreased in South Africa.
According to OfferZen, software developers with under two years of experience earned an average of R20,000 per month in 2022, down from around R21,000 in 2021.
Those with two to four years of experience saw their salaries remain stagnant.
On the other hand, senior developers saw a significant increase in average salaries. According to the report, senior developers earned an average of R83,000 a month in 2022, up 11% from R75,000 in 2021.
OfferZen also noted that inexperienced backend developers earned 27% more than their peers on the front end.
The gap for developers with more than ten years of experience is wider. Senior backend developers earn 33% more than their frontend counterparts on average.
Sectors that pay developers the most are the financial and cloud technology industries, followed by data and analytics, ecommerce, and consulting.
Developers working in ecommerce or telecommunications have seen the most significant year-on-year salary growth, at an average of 9%.
Now read: Average take-home pay in South Africa before and after lockdown
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