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Top tech jobs in South Africa

This week we’ve rounded up some salaries and statistics to shed some light on the IT market in South Africa. A study by Stack Overflow found that salary remains a high priority for South Africans, so whether you’re wondering what role or company you should apply for, read on, check out our job listings and you will be one step closer to that dream role.

IT jobs with the highest starting salaries

A study conducted by MyBroadband has calculated the highest starting salaries for IT workers in South Africa. Using a survey completed by nearly 6,000 South Africans – the majority of whom possessed a tertiary qualification – and combining it with the starting salaries of graduates over the last 10 years, average salaries were estimated. Inflation and salary increases were also taken into account.

Project managers, analysts and programmers were found to be the highest earners on the IT landscape, indicating not just an excellent starting sum but sizable room for opportunity and growth.

The top 6 highest scorers are:

1. Project Managers – R16,413
2. Analysts and consultants – R16,109
3. Programming and software development – R15,824
4. Internet, ecommerce, website management – R14,520
5. Education, training, research – R13,109
6. Security – R12,986

Software developer salary the best in world

Elsewhere, Stack Overflow recently published its annual developer survey. The survey found that the salaries of software developers in South Africa had the best salaries in the world when it came to purchasing power.

More than 50,000 respondents from 173 countries participated in the study, 473 of whom were South African with an average of five years’ experience.

Using the Economist’s 2016 ‘Big Mac Index’ for the adjustments – a strangely-titled but effective measure of purchasing power for developers across different countries – the study found that due to the relatively cheap standard of living and low price of consumer goods, the “average developer there can afford more than 25,000 Big Macs per year”. Whereas in America, the home of the Big Mac, developers can only afford 21,530 a year.

IT companies with the biggest pay checks

And finally, using the latest data from annual reports and financial results from technology and communications companies in South Africa, MyBroadband has calculated the African IT companies that pay the highest salaries. To do so, they used the company’s total staff bill and divided it by the total number of employees. This doesn’t include perks like company cars, bonuses, incentive schemes and tenure.

The figures found that with the exception of Vodacom, state-owned companies pay the highest salaries, with the top three being Vodacom, Broadband Infranco and the SABC.

For the average employee, the salaries offered are:

1. Vodacom – R672,989
2. Broadband Infraco – R628,109
3. SABC – R586,370
4. Sentech – R569, 537
5. ICASA – R539,560

Furthermore, studies by MyBroadband have found that salaries have grown significantly over the last six years. Software developers have seen a salary increase of 9.04% and systems and network administrators have seen a 5.85% increase. Perhaps most staggeringly of all is the business analysis salary which grew 15.53% since 2010.

It’s clear that there is much room for growth in what could become South Africa’s Silicon Valley. To see what opportunities are waiting for you on GradLink in Africa and beyond, register with us today.