The profile resource DOU.UA conducted another study of the salary market of Ukrainian IT specialists, collecting a record 15,136 questionnaires, of which 7,558 questionnaires were from developers of all levels. Despite the start of a full-scale war, the salaries of Ukrainian developers in the first half of 2022 increased: the median in June was $3,400 against $3,300 in December 2021. The salaries of experienced specialists (Senior level and above) increased more actively. Interestingly, about 1% of Ukrainian developers receive salaries above $10,000 per month, and 4% receive more than $7,500.

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In December 2021, there were 8005 questionnaires from developers, which is 6% more than today. This can be either a random phenomenon that occurs in surveys, or a reflection of changes in the IT community (loss of work, mobilization, moving abroad, and other reasons that make it difficult or impossible to participate in the study). The survey involved both IT professionals who are now in Ukraine and those who went abroad after the start of a full-scale war with Russia. Only those who have already found a new job while abroad were not added to the analysis, because these specialists no longer work on the Ukrainian market (there were 85 of them, 50 of them are developers). All salaries are in US dollars after taxes (“net”).

Only 4% of those surveyed lost their jobs due to the start of the war. Some of them have already found a new place, only 2% of developers are currently searching. Most often, interns lost their jobs – 22%, 18% are now looking for a new position, and another 20% have a decrease in the number of jobs/projects. Because of the war, 38% of developers had to move: 28% now live in another city or region in Ukraine, and 10% went abroad. Another 23% moved, but have already returned home.

25% of developers now live in Kyiv and the Kyiv region (before the war – 42%). Lviv and the region are in second place – 20% of developers here against 14% six months ago. The third place is shared by Dnepropetrovsk, Ivano-Frankivsk and Vinnitsa regions: about 5% live in each. About 2% of developers remain in Kharkov and the region (before the war – 13%). The share of Odessa and the region also fell somewhat: now 3% of developers live here, and before the war – 5%. 1% of respondents joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but the real proportion may be higher, because this group may find it difficult or impossible to participate in surveys.

There have been no significant changes in programming languages over the past six months: JavaScript remains the most popular language (22% of developers named it as the main one), followed by C# / .NET and Java (each is the main one for 15% of developers). The proportion of those for whom the main language is TypeScript has slightly increased (from 11% six months ago to 13% now), while PHP has fallen (from 11% to 9%).

So, the average salary of specialists in June 2022 was $3,400 compared to $3,300 in December 2021. The salaries of Architect level developers increased most noticeably, from $6,200 to $6,600 per month. Team/Tech Lead and Senior median salaries increased by $200 (to $5200 and $4700 respectively). The salaries of less experienced specialists also increased: for Middle by $200, up to $2600, for Junior and Intern by $50 (up to $950 and $450 respectively). The salaries of developers working in IT for more than six years grew more actively. Newcomers who had just entered the industry and worked for up to six months were even paid slightly less than in December 2021. After nine years in IT and after seven years in a specialty, the salary of a developer practically stops growing.

In Ukraine, the highest salaries for developers are now in Kyiv, Lvov and Zakarpattia regions ($3,600). The median salary in Kyiv has fallen slightly compared to December 2021 (by $200), while in Lviv it has not changed. Salaries in other million-plus cities also decreased. In particular, in Kharkov for $420, up to $2680. In Odessa – for $300, up to $3000. In Dnipro, too, $3,000 has decreased by $200. Developers who moved abroad due to the start of the war have the highest salaries: their median salary is $4,100 versus $3,400 among all developers. Those who moved to Portugal ($5,500), Spain ($4,500) and Poland ($4,000) have the highest salaries. More experienced specialists went abroad more often: 54% of them had a Senior level or higher, compared to 45% of developers in general. In addition, better-paid specialists were relocated: the median salaries of Middle+ who went abroad are higher than the median salaries of specialists of this level in the market as a whole.

Traditionally, the salaries of Embedded developers, as well as Back-end and Mobile developers are slightly higher than those of other specializations: $3800, $3700 and $3600, respectively, against $3400 in general. This difference is due to the fact that more experienced IT specialists work in these specializations. The salaries of specialists of the same level, but different specializations, practically do not differ. There is a slight difference in the salaries of interns and juniors who are engaged in Embedded, as well as Senior developers working in Back-end and Mobile – they are slightly higher than in other specializations.

The highest salaries remain with Scala and Go developers ($5,700 and $5,000 respectively). These languages are mostly used by experienced professionals (74% of Scala developers and 60% of Go developers are Senior and above). The median salaries of seniors and middles who write in these languages are above average. In addition, slightly more than the average salaries of developers who chose Kotlin ($4000), Ruby ($4000), Java ($3950) and Swift ($3800). And at all levels – from Junior to Senior. 1C specialists traditionally receive the least ($1725). Below the average salary for those who write in PHP ($3100) and SQL ($2925). So are the median salaries of Dart ($3,100), JS ($3,000), C ($3,000) and Salesforce Apex ($2,500), but only because of the smaller number of experienced professionals who use them.

Developers evaluate their knowledge of the English language in the same way as six months ago. The majority calls their level above average (Upper-Intermediate, 41% of respondents) or average (Intermediate, 36%). The difference in the salaries of developers with different knowledge of English is noticeable at all levels, but is especially large for seniors and above. On the other hand, the proportion of seniors and above with poor knowledge of English (below the Intermediate level) is only 8% – this language is necessary for career advancement.

Source: DOU.UA