2024 Tech Salaries and Hiring Trends

Technology teams across industries are broadly forging ahead with business-critical projects. Managers are especially in need of expertise for cloud and DevOps initiatives, digital transformation, security and privacy, development, AI, automation, system upgrades, and data integration and analytics. With 61% of hiring managers planning to expand their teams, competition for candidates promises to remain high. 35% are hiring for vacated positions.

Many companies are bringing in contract professionals to keep projects running smoothly. But high attrition rates among tech employees, with 64% looking or planning to look for a new job, can disrupt team dynamics and morale, requiring managers to place a renewed focus on retention.

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Hiring Trends in Technology

Hiring market remains strong

Hiring skilled technology professionals is a priority for companies across all industries, including many that have laid off large numbers of workers. But the continued lack of available technology professionals means it’s still a candidate’s market. Job gains in the tech sector outnumber losses, and the unemployment rate for this sector remains well below the national average.

of tech managers say finding top talent remains a challenge.

Increase starting salaries Increase starting salaries

Offer flexible work arrangements Offer flexible work arrangements

Give signing bonuses Give signing bonuses

Improve perks and benefits Improve perks and benefits

Cybersecurity Cloud AI and
machine learning Software
development Data science and
database
management Cybersecurity Cloud AI and
machine learning Software
development Data science and
database
management

Retention a balancing act

Voluntary turnover among tech professionals remains high. Companies slowing recruitment may be putting greater stress on their teams as workloads increase and employee fatigue grows. In a Robert Half survey, 48% of tech workers say their feelings of burnout are increasing.

Heavy workloads Heavy workloads

Lack of support from management Lack of support from management

Not enough resources to perform duties adequately Not enough resources to perform duties adequately

More commuting over the past year More commuting over the past year

Contract talent helps work get done

62% of tech managers say they are planning to bring in more contract professionals to gain specialized skills and critical support for key projects. And 43% of IT professionals say they’re open to interim roles.

Software and applications development Software and applications development

Security, privacy and compliance Security, privacy and compliance

Cloud architecture and operation Cloud architecture and operation

Technology process automation Technology process automation

Hottest jobs

Help desk specialist, Tier 1

Network/cloud engineer

Software engineer

Database administrator

Data scientist

Industries hiring most

Education

Financial services

Healthcare

Manufacturing

Professional services

In-demand accreditations and skills

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Certified Agile Leadership (CAL)

Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA)

Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)

Cisco certifications

CompTIA A+

Microsoft Azure

Professional Scrum Master (PSM)

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How do we determine our salary figures? See our methodology.

The salaries listed in the salary tables represent starting compensation only, meaning pay for someone new to a company in the position listed. Our estimates do not include bonuses, benefits or perks. We report salaries in percentiles and ranges, recognizing that professionals join companies at varied experience levels.

Other data referenced in this Salary Guide is based on online surveys developed by Robert Half and conducted by independent research firms. Respondents included hiring managers and employees from small (less than $50 million in revenues), midsize ($50 million to $1 billion) and large ($1 billion or greater) private, publicly listed and public sector organizations across the United States.

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