Review of testers salaries or is it worth working for food?
Material values rule the material world. And no matter how we hide our salary expectations under the correct wording about the importance of the team, the interestingness of the tasks and the possibility of self-realization, we are looking for the line on the possible income in the job description. At the same time, we ourselves are often inclined to wait for more, by all means giving up on receiving “cheap” offers or not finding offers with the desired level of wages.
My path to testing began from the very beginning and I, gathering knowledge and experience, climbed the career ladder step by step. It is logical that at the very beginning of the way money was paid a little. But I understood that first you need to “upgrade”, expand your knowledge and skills, so I gradually went to the intended goal. Now, having achieved the desired, I, having experience in QA for over six years and seeing the difficulties that my colleagues face, decided to study the money issue in our market.
In my previous article, “ Hiring Testers on Both Sides of the Barricades, ” the financial issue was briefly addressed, but, as feedback showed, it was he who turned out to be the most interesting. Therefore, I decided to study the market of testers salaries, and thereby help my colleagues match their expectations with reality. In the end, it turned out to be just interesting to know how our brother lives.
')
I conducted a sociological survey in the CAWI (Computer Assisted Web Interviewing) survey technique - a survey using the Internet. At once I will make a reservation that it cannot be considered an absolute truth: it is not based on complex mathematical models, it has a small sample. Therefore, with the conclusions I tried to be careful.
How to relate to its results - you decide. But at the moment it is the best that we have. Unfortunately, there is practically no research on wages in our sphere, especially in the last year. This is probably due to the fact that testers are not numerous and it is not out of the hands to spend time and effort on the study of a relatively small professional group to serious sociological services. But as time shows, this question is topical and requires immersion. So, breathe in more and dive deeper.
The survey involved 373 respondents, two of whom work in freelancing, and the rest - office workers, more than two-thirds of whom work full time. But at the same time, 99.5% of respondents are on full-time (hereinafter, the results will be given as a percentage).
My questions were answered by specialists from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, the USA, Great Britain, Poland, Germany, Israel, as well as representatives of transnational companies.
Another cut is the size of the companies in which the respondents work. Thus, 34% of respondents represent very large companies with more than 500 employees, 28% from large firms. From organizations with a staff of up to 100 people received 18% of responses from the total amount, about the same - 17% - employees from small companies (up to 50 people). Finally, 1.5% of respondents represent a very small employer with a staff of 10 people or less.
What do we have with the professional areas of the companies in which our respondents work?
23% represent the financial sector (financial services or banks), 16% each - e-commerce and integrators, 14% - telecommunications, 9% - web studios and agencies, and further to reduce:
If we consider the total experience in testing among the respondents, the picture is as follows:
89% of our respondents are engaged in manual testing, a quarter of which is partially related to automated testing. Of all the respondents, 34% are “machine gunners”. The sum of more than one hundred percent is not the quirks of mathematics, but an example of the universality of our profession: many have already mastered both methods.
Finally, almost every fifth respondent is a manager, and about 5% of respondents release themselves. But the most surprising thing is that it turned out in the research process: every 25th is already immersed in DevOps (4%).
Now, when each of us can make a portrait of a participant in our survey and transfer it to himself, let us move on to the most "tasty" - the results of the study.
So, I “hooked up” Dudya and asked my colleagues a number of questions regarding their salary, additional motivation, job satisfaction and income. And that's what we did.
Salaries in the IT labor market vary widely: the lower and upper limits of the "plug" of remuneration in one city may differ several times. C'est la vie, as the French say. But the overall picture is:
Thus, the majority of respondents receive a salary in the range of 20-50 thousand rubles. And this is not the lowest income: about 6% of respondents earn less than 20 thousand rubles. And further downward - the higher the income, the less lucky.
And what about extra motivation?
Surprisingly, in more than half of the respondents, the results of the work do not affect the additional promotion.
What kind of motivation is this? As a rule, the employer provides a monthly increase, quarterly bonus or annual bonus. As we can see, the majority is encouraged by only one kind. Less often, an employee receives two types of motivation. Incredibly, there was even one respondent who was swimming in the pool of money, getting an increase every month, quarter and year!
But then the comparison is not only a simple level of income, but its size in relation to the place of residence. Quite often, communicating with colleagues from other regions, one can hear the phrase that they, while performing the functional work activity, similar to an employee of the Moscow or St. Petersburg office, receive many times less.
Consider the correlation of the level of wages depending on experience and region.
The majority of those working in the capital, whose salary varies from 20 to 50 thousand rubles, have less than a year of experience and are mainly engaged in manual testing. In the northern capital, this salary is received by approximately the same number of employees with less than a year experience and 1-3 years experience. The bulk of St. Petersburgers are also engaged in manual testing. In the regions, a smaller number of specialists receive a similar salary than in the capitals, while they are engaged in manual testing and have work experience of up to a year.
The most popular among QA-specialists salary is from 50 to 70 thousand rubles. If we consider Moscow and St. Petersburg, then the majority of employees who receive such income have 1-3 years experience and are engaged in manual testing, but in St. Petersburg there are those who combine manual testing with management. A similar picture of salary (1-3 years of experience, manual testing) is also in the regions.
The salary level from 70 to 90 thousand rubles for manual testers is very common in capitals with work experience of 1-3 years, but in the regions few people receive such salary, and that is subject to a longer experience.
And if a salary of 90 thousand rubles and more can be obtained in Moscow by doing only manual testing, then in the regions the requirements are higher: a comparable income level implies the skills of automated testing. True, the situation is balanced by the fact that a higher salary in the region will require less experience, albeit in a more complex form of testing.
But money does not happen much, and in a situation when salary expectations did not come true, some start to search for sources of additional income. Given that the tester is a lazy creature, it’s scary to imagine how much the salary has ceased to satisfy him, that he began to look for a side job! However, we will talk about the correlation between income and satisfaction with them a little later.
Among the sources of additional income, respondents noted a side job, not related to professional activities, consulting services / coaching and, in fact, work in the profession.
According to the survey, the main motivational component of additional earnings among QA-specialists are low salaries, high costs, the need to repay the loan / mortgage. This is followed by a hobby, fan, habits, satisfaction of their own intangible interests. But the improvement of skills and the acquisition of additional experience are the motive of the smallest group of respondents.
Does the extra income really affect the overall budget? As we can see on the chart, the part time job for the majority of respondents who have it is less than 1/3 of the basic salary.
But with rare exceptions, when part-time work is a hobby and a way to improve your skills, a specialist is looking for additional income not from a good life. Of course, the ideal option is to work less and earn more. And the flexible schedule would suit many. Such is human nature.
However, the loyalty of working conditions depends on the scope of the company. The survey showed that the most inclined to provide testers with the freedom to choose the working hours of the company, working in areas related to logistics and recognition.
Close to them in terms of working liberties companies from the fields of medicine, education, E-commerce and software development. The possibility of free graphics is also available to employers from outsourcing firms, product development, search engines, manufacturers of electronic guides and maps. Strictly from 9 to 6 will have to work testers working in the field of public services and tourism.
But we must understand that the amount of income does not mean anything without reference to satisfaction with them. Therefore, I asked the respondents the intimate question: are they satisfied with the level of income?
As we see (and we note with regret), more than half of my colleagues in the workshop do not experience much happiness on the payday. And if you add doubters to them (after all, doubts are always a reason to think), then the picture is very depressing. It's time to scroll up and recall that only 1/5 of respondents have additional income. That is, even if one of them is 100% of those who are dissatisfied with their salary, then still more than a third of the respondents not only suffer from a lack of money, but also do nothing with it. It's sad.
Let's talk about whether work that brings income, like.
If you act contrary to your nature, work on the unloved work, stepping on your throat, then over time a person begins to feel that he is useless. This feeling, in turn, breeds fear and uncertainty about the future. And vice versa, if the business that you do is like and you are needed, you are in the right place, this feeling of being useful gives a feeling of security, confidence, and self-esteem. That is how this world works. People who can put their heart into what they do are always needed.
Of course, the correlation between salary satisfaction and employer is very interesting. And it turns out a strange story. Judge for yourself.
It turns out that there are two times more satisfied with the place of their work than their salary!
If you look closely, the connection is interesting. Of those who are satisfied with their place of work, 28.15% are dissatisfied with the level of wages. At the same time, exactly the same 28% are satisfied with their place of work and the level of wages! It's amazing how the opinions of those who are satisfied with their place of work were divided into two camps.
An interesting fact: two employees from large e-commerce are not satisfied with their salary level: one from Moscow, a hammer / automator, with average work experience, receiving 120-160 thousand rubles, and the second from Kiev, with little experience, with an income of 50-70 thousand rubles.
Finally, the uncertainty in either income or place of work was 4%.
It would be interesting to find out about your satisfaction with your salary, work, and generally thoughts on how we should proceed. Waiting for your comments!
As I said above, the survey does not allow for an absolutely objective picture. But some conclusions can be drawn from the available data.
The fact that the respondents were divided into two equal camps from those who like work / do not like wages and those who are satisfied with everything leads to an interesting idea.
It is no secret that in life you always have to compromise. As in the famous parable, we have to choose between the pipe and the basket, trying to find the best option by trial and error. Similarly, the survey results show that we often make a choice between a good team, an interesting job and big money.
As for me, I'm probably lucky. I work in a large web agency that implements ambitious tasks, paying for my work with dignity. Recently, we have grown strongly and belong to large companies. Our team is not going to stop there, we are developing and expanding, we have a lot of interesting and bold projects that require fresh brains and professional talents. Therefore, if you are ready for new challenges and want to try your luck, then you are welcome!)
Well, the rush to make more money is very commendable. At the same time, salary expectations should be based not only on personal “women”, but also on a certain level of professionalism and experience. Unfortunately, the desire to get everything and at once often leads talented young testers to non-core areas with a higher income level, creating a shortage of personnel in our market.
Therefore, I would like to wish only that when choosing an employer, novice specialists put companies in priority, which, above all, offer interesting tasks. Because the key to both career and financial growth lies in the availability of experience and skills that can be obtained only by engaging in complex tasks. Work for yourself and your future and be sure to achieve what you want!
The survey results for those interested here .
My path to testing began from the very beginning and I, gathering knowledge and experience, climbed the career ladder step by step. It is logical that at the very beginning of the way money was paid a little. But I understood that first you need to “upgrade”, expand your knowledge and skills, so I gradually went to the intended goal. Now, having achieved the desired, I, having experience in QA for over six years and seeing the difficulties that my colleagues face, decided to study the money issue in our market.
In my previous article, “ Hiring Testers on Both Sides of the Barricades, ” the financial issue was briefly addressed, but, as feedback showed, it was he who turned out to be the most interesting. Therefore, I decided to study the market of testers salaries, and thereby help my colleagues match their expectations with reality. In the end, it turned out to be just interesting to know how our brother lives.
')
I conducted a sociological survey in the CAWI (Computer Assisted Web Interviewing) survey technique - a survey using the Internet. At once I will make a reservation that it cannot be considered an absolute truth: it is not based on complex mathematical models, it has a small sample. Therefore, with the conclusions I tried to be careful.
How to relate to its results - you decide. But at the moment it is the best that we have. Unfortunately, there is practically no research on wages in our sphere, especially in the last year. This is probably due to the fact that testers are not numerous and it is not out of the hands to spend time and effort on the study of a relatively small professional group to serious sociological services. But as time shows, this question is topical and requires immersion. So, breathe in more and dive deeper.
Portrait of a tester: employment, place of work, experience
The survey involved 373 respondents, two of whom work in freelancing, and the rest - office workers, more than two-thirds of whom work full time. But at the same time, 99.5% of respondents are on full-time (hereinafter, the results will be given as a percentage).
My questions were answered by specialists from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, the USA, Great Britain, Poland, Germany, Israel, as well as representatives of transnational companies.
Another cut is the size of the companies in which the respondents work. Thus, 34% of respondents represent very large companies with more than 500 employees, 28% from large firms. From organizations with a staff of up to 100 people received 18% of responses from the total amount, about the same - 17% - employees from small companies (up to 50 people). Finally, 1.5% of respondents represent a very small employer with a staff of 10 people or less.
What do we have with the professional areas of the companies in which our respondents work?
23% represent the financial sector (financial services or banks), 16% each - e-commerce and integrators, 14% - telecommunications, 9% - web studios and agencies, and further to reduce:
If we consider the total experience in testing among the respondents, the picture is as follows:
- less than 1 year of experience have a quarter of the total number of respondents;
- from 1 to 3 years - 43%;
- from 3 to 6 years - 23%;
- from 6 to 10 years - 7%;
- From 10 years of experience in testing have 2% of respondents.
89% of our respondents are engaged in manual testing, a quarter of which is partially related to automated testing. Of all the respondents, 34% are “machine gunners”. The sum of more than one hundred percent is not the quirks of mathematics, but an example of the universality of our profession: many have already mastered both methods.
Finally, almost every fifth respondent is a manager, and about 5% of respondents release themselves. But the most surprising thing is that it turned out in the research process: every 25th is already immersed in DevOps (4%).
Now, when each of us can make a portrait of a participant in our survey and transfer it to himself, let us move on to the most "tasty" - the results of the study.
Testers salary market: where to find "fish" places
So, I “hooked up” Dudya and asked my colleagues a number of questions regarding their salary, additional motivation, job satisfaction and income. And that's what we did.
Salaries in the IT labor market vary widely: the lower and upper limits of the "plug" of remuneration in one city may differ several times. C'est la vie, as the French say. But the overall picture is:
Thus, the majority of respondents receive a salary in the range of 20-50 thousand rubles. And this is not the lowest income: about 6% of respondents earn less than 20 thousand rubles. And further downward - the higher the income, the less lucky.
And what about extra motivation?
Surprisingly, in more than half of the respondents, the results of the work do not affect the additional promotion.
What kind of motivation is this? As a rule, the employer provides a monthly increase, quarterly bonus or annual bonus. As we can see, the majority is encouraged by only one kind. Less often, an employee receives two types of motivation. Incredibly, there was even one respondent who was swimming in the pool of money, getting an increase every month, quarter and year!
But then the comparison is not only a simple level of income, but its size in relation to the place of residence. Quite often, communicating with colleagues from other regions, one can hear the phrase that they, while performing the functional work activity, similar to an employee of the Moscow or St. Petersburg office, receive many times less.
Consider the correlation of the level of wages depending on experience and region.
The majority of those working in the capital, whose salary varies from 20 to 50 thousand rubles, have less than a year of experience and are mainly engaged in manual testing. In the northern capital, this salary is received by approximately the same number of employees with less than a year experience and 1-3 years experience. The bulk of St. Petersburgers are also engaged in manual testing. In the regions, a smaller number of specialists receive a similar salary than in the capitals, while they are engaged in manual testing and have work experience of up to a year.
The most popular among QA-specialists salary is from 50 to 70 thousand rubles. If we consider Moscow and St. Petersburg, then the majority of employees who receive such income have 1-3 years experience and are engaged in manual testing, but in St. Petersburg there are those who combine manual testing with management. A similar picture of salary (1-3 years of experience, manual testing) is also in the regions.
The salary level from 70 to 90 thousand rubles for manual testers is very common in capitals with work experience of 1-3 years, but in the regions few people receive such salary, and that is subject to a longer experience.
And if a salary of 90 thousand rubles and more can be obtained in Moscow by doing only manual testing, then in the regions the requirements are higher: a comparable income level implies the skills of automated testing. True, the situation is balanced by the fact that a higher salary in the region will require less experience, albeit in a more complex form of testing.
But money does not happen much, and in a situation when salary expectations did not come true, some start to search for sources of additional income. Given that the tester is a lazy creature, it’s scary to imagine how much the salary has ceased to satisfy him, that he began to look for a side job! However, we will talk about the correlation between income and satisfaction with them a little later.
Among the sources of additional income, respondents noted a side job, not related to professional activities, consulting services / coaching and, in fact, work in the profession.
According to the survey, the main motivational component of additional earnings among QA-specialists are low salaries, high costs, the need to repay the loan / mortgage. This is followed by a hobby, fan, habits, satisfaction of their own intangible interests. But the improvement of skills and the acquisition of additional experience are the motive of the smallest group of respondents.
Does the extra income really affect the overall budget? As we can see on the chart, the part time job for the majority of respondents who have it is less than 1/3 of the basic salary.
But with rare exceptions, when part-time work is a hobby and a way to improve your skills, a specialist is looking for additional income not from a good life. Of course, the ideal option is to work less and earn more. And the flexible schedule would suit many. Such is human nature.
However, the loyalty of working conditions depends on the scope of the company. The survey showed that the most inclined to provide testers with the freedom to choose the working hours of the company, working in areas related to logistics and recognition.
Close to them in terms of working liberties companies from the fields of medicine, education, E-commerce and software development. The possibility of free graphics is also available to employers from outsourcing firms, product development, search engines, manufacturers of electronic guides and maps. Strictly from 9 to 6 will have to work testers working in the field of public services and tourism.
But we must understand that the amount of income does not mean anything without reference to satisfaction with them. Therefore, I asked the respondents the intimate question: are they satisfied with the level of income?
As we see (and we note with regret), more than half of my colleagues in the workshop do not experience much happiness on the payday. And if you add doubters to them (after all, doubts are always a reason to think), then the picture is very depressing. It's time to scroll up and recall that only 1/5 of respondents have additional income. That is, even if one of them is 100% of those who are dissatisfied with their salary, then still more than a third of the respondents not only suffer from a lack of money, but also do nothing with it. It's sad.
Let's talk about whether work that brings income, like.
If you act contrary to your nature, work on the unloved work, stepping on your throat, then over time a person begins to feel that he is useless. This feeling, in turn, breeds fear and uncertainty about the future. And vice versa, if the business that you do is like and you are needed, you are in the right place, this feeling of being useful gives a feeling of security, confidence, and self-esteem. That is how this world works. People who can put their heart into what they do are always needed.
Of course, the correlation between salary satisfaction and employer is very interesting. And it turns out a strange story. Judge for yourself.
It turns out that there are two times more satisfied with the place of their work than their salary!
Here, it would seem, it's time to clutch at the head and shout: “guys, well, why are you?”. But no, I still have data separately for each group of respondents who will help to make out the nuances.
If you look closely, the connection is interesting. Of those who are satisfied with their place of work, 28.15% are dissatisfied with the level of wages. At the same time, exactly the same 28% are satisfied with their place of work and the level of wages! It's amazing how the opinions of those who are satisfied with their place of work were divided into two camps.
An interesting fact: two employees from large e-commerce are not satisfied with their salary level: one from Moscow, a hammer / automator, with average work experience, receiving 120-160 thousand rubles, and the second from Kiev, with little experience, with an income of 50-70 thousand rubles.
As shown by the survey data, every tenth tester is dissatisfied with the system: both the employer and the salary.
Finally, the uncertainty in either income or place of work was 4%.
It would be interesting to find out about your satisfaction with your salary, work, and generally thoughts on how we should proceed. Waiting for your comments!
Prize or money: what to choose
As I said above, the survey does not allow for an absolutely objective picture. But some conclusions can be drawn from the available data.
The fact that the respondents were divided into two equal camps from those who like work / do not like wages and those who are satisfied with everything leads to an interesting idea.
It is no secret that in life you always have to compromise. As in the famous parable, we have to choose between the pipe and the basket, trying to find the best option by trial and error. Similarly, the survey results show that we often make a choice between a good team, an interesting job and big money.
What is more important - each of us chooses himself, deep in our hearts hoping that one day we will find a middle ground.
As for me, I'm probably lucky. I work in a large web agency that implements ambitious tasks, paying for my work with dignity. Recently, we have grown strongly and belong to large companies. Our team is not going to stop there, we are developing and expanding, we have a lot of interesting and bold projects that require fresh brains and professional talents. Therefore, if you are ready for new challenges and want to try your luck, then you are welcome!)
Well, the rush to make more money is very commendable. At the same time, salary expectations should be based not only on personal “women”, but also on a certain level of professionalism and experience. Unfortunately, the desire to get everything and at once often leads talented young testers to non-core areas with a higher income level, creating a shortage of personnel in our market.
Therefore, I would like to wish only that when choosing an employer, novice specialists put companies in priority, which, above all, offer interesting tasks. Because the key to both career and financial growth lies in the availability of experience and skills that can be obtained only by engaging in complex tasks. Work for yourself and your future and be sure to achieve what you want!
The survey results for those interested here .
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/344430/
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