The ManfredTech Career Report2023
Our mission is clear: to shed light on the tech sector from the unique position that we have. We know both what professionals expect and what companies need, what are the most-used technologies, the salaries offered, the most common ways of working, the gender pay gap... All based on real data rather than opinions.
What you are going to find here
Data
Below are some of the data sources on which the graphs in the report are based. As of September 2023, 37,000+ people are part of our platform and are the main source of the information you will find here.
Tech talent sector in Spain
What technologies and languages do professionals prefer, which ones do they not want to work with, and how much do they expect to be paid depending on the technology and/or language they work with?
Key points
of the candidates use JavaScript professionally. It is the programming language most people work with.
of tech professionals rank Java or PHP as the languages they least want to work with. Ironically these are the two most-used languages, yet the ones professionals want to work with the least.
of the people who work with .NET have more than 10 years of experience. Frontend languages have the greatest impact on junior profiles. On the other hand, AWS and Docker have the least impact among junior profiles.
of all the candidates, AngularJS and Angular 2+ are the least desirable frameworks. 8.8% do not want to work with React.
Most used technologies
Distribution of the 10 languages, frameworks and libraries, and other technologies by percentage of use based on years of professional experience.
Javascript is the language that takes the lead, followed by HTML and CSS. It makes sense because it is the main language in Frontend, but it is also gaining popularity in Back. As for frameworks, Frontend frameworks are leading the way: React is used twice as much as the second most-used (Angular 2+). The use of Git and AWS in "Other technologies" is noteworthy.
Most disliked technologies
Distribution of the 10 languages, frameworks and libraries, and other technologies that the tech community prefers not to work with. In Manfred, users can select the technologies they do not want to be contacted for.
What is most striking is that both Java and PHP appear in both the most used and the least desired languages. From this we can clearly see that these are the two languages that the tech community most commonly works with, although it would actually prefer to be working with others. Between them, they represent almost 50% of the languages that developers do not want to work with. In "Other technologies", WordPress and Windows are the ones that stand out.
Predominant languages and technologies according to years of professional experience
Heat map of languages, frameworks and libraries, and tools according to usage based on experience.
| <2y | 2-5y | 5-10y | >10y | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C# | 16.3% | 25.7% | 22.7% | 35.4% |
| C++ | 19.3% | 26.4% | 20.6% | 33.8% |
| CSS | 33.1% | 28.9% | 19.7% | 18.4% |
| HTML | 32.6% | 28.7% | 20.0% | 18.6% |
| JAVA | 19.4% | 24.9% | 23.0% | 32.7% |
| JavaScript | 26.4% | 28.4% | 22.1% | 23.1% |
| PHP | 16.9% | 22.1% | 25.8% | 35.2% |
| Python | 21.2% | 29.9% | 22.4% | 26.5% |
| SQL | 20.3% | 29.6% | 22.8% | 27.3% |
| TypeScript | 22.3% | 34.5% | 24.6% | 18.6% |
| <2y | 2-5y | 5-10y | >10y | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Angular2+ | 15.2% | 30.3% | 29.3% | 25.2% |
| Bootstrap | 37.8% | 26.7% | 16.9% | 18.7% |
| Express | 43.5% | 28.5% | 16.5% | 11.5% |
| jQuery | 12.6% | 23.9% | 27.9% | 35.5% |
| Laravel | 17.9% | 28.3% | 27.5% | 26.3% |
| .NET | 10.5% | 21.3% | 25.3% | 42.9% |
| React | 31.9% | 30.9% | 20.7% | 16.5% |
| Spring | 11.4% | 23.7% | 25.6% | 39.3% |
| Spring Boot | 16.9% | 26.4% | 24.7% | 32.0% |
| Vue | 17.1% | 30.7% | 29.1% | 23.0% |
| <2y | 2-5y | 5-10y | >10y | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AWS | 8.0% | 24.2% | 28.0% | 39.7% |
| Docker | 11.4% | 27.4% | 27.8% | 33.4% |
| Git | 22.6% | 29.7% | 24.2% | 23.5% |
| Github | 34.2% | 27.5% | 19.6% | 18.6% |
| Jira | 10.5% | 27.1% | 28.1% | 34.3% |
| Linux | 13.2% | 23.1% | 23.2% | 40.5% |
| MongoDB | 25.0% | 27.1% | 23.1% | 24.7% |
| MySQL | 20.8% | 23.7% | 24.6% | 30.8% |
| NodeJS | 28.7% | 28.6% | 22.3% | 20.4% |
| PostgreSQL | 17.3% | 27.7% | 25.0% | 30.0% |
jQuery, .Net, Spring or C# are languages and frameworks that find their peak in professional profiles with 10+ years of experience. These can prove to lead to potential talent issues, due to their low level of use by profiles with fewer years of professional experience. AWS or Docker are technologies that are widely used, but which are not usually used by professionals who are in the early stages of their career within the sector.
Soft skills commonly found within the Tech Community vs. Soft skills companies are looking for
Comparison of soft skills within the tech community vs. soft skills companies are looking for.
Candidates and companies are not very aligned on which soft skills are deemed most important. There seems to be quite a gap between the types of skills that candidates highlight and those that companies are looking for within their teams. For example, continuous learning is a common feature in candidate profiles, but it is a skill that is sought after by practically less after than half the companies in the report. On the contrary, in soft skills such as Good verbal communication or Proactivity, it is the companies that demand it more than the number of candidates who put it forward as one of their soft skills.
What do professionals want?
Salary and job perks
Working remotely full time, salary, working conditions or other job perks offered can be triggers for someone to accept a new job offer. Or not.
Key points
Of candidates choose remote work as their preferred type of work set-up. Remote work currently remains the top choice for most candidates.
Here are languages found withing the highest salary range: Python, Typescript and Java.
Technical leadership roles such as Engineering Manager or Tech Lead, and Project leadership roles aim for 80K+ per annum. These are the profiles that aspire to the highest salaries.
It is the difference between a fluent and an intermediate level of English. It is a clear indication of being able to aspire to a higher salary. Professional profiles with a low/intermediate levels of English seem to meet a glass ceiling at 50K per annum.
Work location preference
Comparison of the three work set-ups that candidates registered with Manfred can choose from. Hybrid refers to the set-up that is partially remote.
The increase in demand for remote work can no longer be solely associated with COVIDgeddon. Candidates show a strong preference for teleworking.
Easier personal-professional reconciliation, time and money savings due to less travel or improved levels of concentration seem to be the main reasons for this preferred way of working.
Average salary by technology and by years of experience
Evolution of the average annual salary according to professional experience for the 10 most relevant technologies out there.
Starting salaries are not so much related to which technology or language is used, but to experience - the deviation is greater the more experience you have. Python, Typescript and Java are the three languages with the highest salaries for >10 years of experience. People working with Javascript and Typescript are the highest paid in the market. PHP is the lowest paid programming language. On the other hand, those working with AWS are paid more than those who have primarilly worked with other technologies throughout their careers.
Average salary by role
Heat map linking the main job roles with their percentage distribution based on salary.
| <20K | €20-30K | €31-40K | €41-50K | €51-60K | €61-80K | >80K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Backend Developer | 19.8% | 57.5% | 17.7% | 3.0% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.2% |
| Data Analysis & BI | 12.4% | 52.5% | 25.9% | 5.3% | 1.8% | 0.7% | 0.7% |
| Data Engineer | 8.0% | 41.6% | 38.5% | 6.2% | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2.2% |
| Data Scientist | 9.5% | 48.4% | 28.5% | 8.2% | 2.8% | 0.9% | 1.3% |
| DevOps & Infra. & SRE | 10.5% | 52.6% | 23.0% | 10.0% | 1.4% | 1.4% | 0.5% |
| Engineering Management | 8.8% | 38.2% | 20.6% | 14.7% | 11.8% | 0.0% | 2.9% |
| Frontend Developer | 24.4% | 59.1% | 12.6% | 2.3% | 0.5% | 0.8% | 0.2% |
| Full-stack Developer | 19.7% | 60.3% | 15.7% | 2.6% | 0.5% | 0.8% | 0.2% |
| Mobile Developer | 24.6% | 56.8% | 14.2% | 2.7% | 0.6% | 1.2% | 0.0% |
| Product Design (UI/UX) | 17.3% | 62.5% | 16.1% | 2.8% | 0.0% | 0.4% | 0.4% |
| Product Manager | 3.3% | 44.3% | 31.1% | 14.8% | 4.9% | 0.0% | 1.6% |
| Project & Delivery Manager | 1.2% | 61.0% | 28.0% | 6.1% | 3.7% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| QA & Testing Engineer | 20.3% | 54.9% | 17.0% | 5.9% | 1.3% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Software Architect | 15.5% | 39.7% | 33.6% | 6.9% | 2.6% | 0.9% | 0.0% |
| SysAdmin | 15.1% | 57.0% | 19.8% | 4.7% | 0.0% | 2.3% | 0.0% |
| Tech Lead | 3.4% | 24.1% | 41.4% | 13.8% | 3.4% | 6.9% | 3.4% |
| <20K | €20-30K | €31-40K | €41-50K | €51-60K | €61-80K | >80K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Backend Developer | 3.9% | 21.9% | 39.4% | 22.2% | 8.2% | 3.4% | 1.0% |
| Data Analysis & BI | 2.0% | 19.9% | 33.4% | 26.8% | 12.1% | 3.2% | 2.6% |
| Data Engineer | 1.6% | 12.7% | 31.9% | 25.9% | 17.6% | 8.3% | 1.8% |
| Data Scientist | 1.2% | 15.3% | 30.7% | 27.1% | 16.5% | 6.7% | 2.2% |
| DevOps & Infra. & SRE | 2.9% | 13.5% | 28.7% | 27.3% | 17.0% | 7.6% | 2.9% |
| Engineering Management | 2.8% | 11.3% | 26.4% | 24.5% | 23.6% | 7.5% | 3.8% |
| Frontend Developer | 4.9% | 28.5% | 39.4% | 17.6% | 6.3% | 2.3% | 0.8% |
| Full-stack Developer | 4.2% | 24.8% | 39.6% | 19.8% | 7.4% | 2.9% | 1.1% |
| Mobile Developer | 4.3% | 21.2% | 35.3% | 23.8% | 8.9% | 4.8% | 1.7% |
| Product Design (UI/UX) | 2.2% | 41.2% | 39.6% | 12.4% | 2.8% | 0.9% | 0.9% |
| Product Manager | 0.3% | 12.1% | 29.0% | 29.3% | 18.6% | 7.6% | 3.1% |
| Project & Delivery Manager | 0.9% | 28.3% | 33.4% | 31.3% | 13.9% | 5.1% | 1.2% |
| QA & Testing Engineer | 3.5% | 26.9% | 41.4% | 16.3% | 7.5% | 1.3% | 2.6% |
| Software Architect | 3.4% | 11.8% | 27.8% | 29.3% | 16.3% | 6.8% | 4.2% |
| SysAdmin | 1.8% | 30.4% | 39.9% | 18.5% | 7.1% | 1.8% | 0.6% |
| Tech Lead | 3.3% | 3.7% | 20.6% | 31.3% | 24.7% | 11.1% | 5.3% |
| <20K | €20-30K | €31-40K | €41-50K | €51-60K | €61-80K | >80K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Backend Developer | 0.9% | 6.2% | 25.0% | 32.3% | 19.1% | 12.7% | 3.6% |
| Data Analysis & BI | 0.4% | 7.6% | 23.6% | 32.4% | 23.1% | 9.3% | 3.6% |
| Data Engineer | 1.1% | 2.2% | 11.7% | 24.8% | 30.3% | 21.9% | 8.0% |
| Data Scientist | 1.3% | 5.2% | 15.6% | 25.1% | 30.3% | 15.2% | 7.4% |
| DevOps & Infra. & SRE | 0.6% | 3.8% | 15.3% | 25.8% | 23.2% | 24.0% | 7.1% |
| Engineering Management | 0.0% | 1.3% | 10.1% | 17.5% | 26.9% | 26.9% | 16.8% |
| Frontend Developer | 1.2% | 7.9% | 26.8% | 30.1% | 18.0% | 12.4% | 3.4% |
| Full-stack Developer | 0.9% | 6.4% | 26.7% | 32.5% | 17.8% | 12.4% | 3.3% |
| Mobile Developer | 1.4% | 4.6% | 22.2% | 27.9% | 21.1% | 18.3% | 4.1% |
| Product Design (UI/UX) | 0.4% | 18.5% | 38.1% | 27.3% | 10.4% | 3.8% | 1.5% |
| Product Manager | 0.0% | 3.4% | 14.6% | 36.1% | 21.8% | 18.5% | 5.6% |
| Project & Delivery Manager | 0.4% | 6.1% | 20.4% | 33.8% | 19.8% | 16.4% | 3.2% |
| QA & Testing Engineer | 1.2% | 15.0% | 27.2% | 22.0% | 21.4% | 10.4% | 2.3% |
| Software Architect | 0.0% | 1.5% | 6.6% | 25.0% | 28.9% | 25.2% | 12.3% |
| SysAdmin | 1.6% | 20.0% | 30.5% | 22.6% | 13.7% | 7.9% | 3.7% |
| Tech Lead | 0.1% | 1.2% | 8.6% | 25.0% | 25.2% | 28.6% | 11.1% |
| <20K | €20-30K | €31-40K | €41-50K | €51-60K | €61-80K | >80K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Backend Developer | 0.3% | 3.2% | 15.8% | 29.6% | 23.3% | 20.2% | 7.6% |
| Data Analysis & BI | 0.6% | 2.8% | 14.9% | 29.5% | 22.0% | 22.4% | 7.5% |
| Data Engineer | 0.3% | 2.8% | 8.5% | 21.6% | 20.1% | 32.3% | 14.1% |
| Data Scientist | 0.5% | 3.2% | 7.9% | 25.9% | 20.8% | 25.0% | 15.7% |
| DevOps & Infra. & SRE | 0.0% | 2.9% | 8.2% | 21.9% | 23.4% | 29.0% | 14.5% |
| Engineering Management | 0.1% | 0.7% | 3.7% | 12.3% | 19.6% | 36.7% | 26.4% |
| Frontend Developer | 0.8% | 5.0% | 19.3% | 30.4% | 21.2% | 17.7% | 5.4% |
| Full-stack Developer | 0.4% | 3.6% | 16.1% | 30.4% | 22.8% | 20.0% | 6.4% |
| Mobile Developer | 0.3% | 2.0% | 15.8% | 27.2% | 25.7% | 20.8% | 7.9% |
| Product Design (UI/UX) | 1.1% | 13.0% | 32.3% | 28.6% | 15.2% | 7.4% | 2.2% |
| Product Manager | 0.2% | 1.2% | 7.6% | 20.9% | 24.6% | 33.9% | 11.7% |
| Project & Delivery Manager | 0.0% | 1.9% | 8.6% | 23.0% | 27.0% | 32.5% | 6.9% |
| QA & Testing Engineer | 1.1% | 5.5% | 16.9% | 30.1% | 25.1% | 17.5% | 3.8% |
| Software Architect | 0.1% | 1.1% | 3.2% | 18.6% | 27.2% | 32.0% | 17.2% |
| SysAdmin | 1.1% | 8.3% | 26.7% | 25.9% | 20.1% | 13.2% | 4.3% |
| Tech Lead | 0.2% | 0.5% | 4.6% | 17.1% | 25.8% | 33.9% | 17.4% |
Technical leadership roles have the highest salary expectations. It is striking that Infrastructure roles are above average, with the majority concentrated in the annual salary range of €50K and over, while QA and Product Design (UX/UI) roles are concentrated in the €20-40K range. There is a general trend in roles requiring more experience such as Product & Project Manager, Architecture or Leadership roles: the highest percentages (i.e. the most professionals) are concentrated in the €50K and above range.
Proficiency in English and its impact on salary
Heat map according to the tech community's English proficiency in relation to salary. Basic levels of English correspond to A2 standard, Intermediate to B1, Fluent to B2-C1 and Native to C2.
| <20K | €20-30K | €31-40K | €41-50K | €51-60K | €61-80K | >80K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | 17.3% | 27.5% | 20.1% | 17.3% | 7.2% | 4.5% | 2.2% |
| Intermediate | 11.2% | 23.5% | 19.4% | 19.1% | 12.1% | 7.7% | 3.2% |
| Fluent | 5.8% | 17.7% | 17.3% | 16.1% | 13.9% | 14.8% | 11.2% |
| Native/Bilingual | 5.1% | 16.4% | 14.9% | 11.7% | 10.3% | 13.5% | 21.3% |
English proficiency is one of the key skills to be able to aspire to a higher salary. There is a clear correlation between having a higher level of English and being in a higher salary bracket. It seems that for those with a basic or intermediate level, the glass salary ceiling is between €40-50K per annum, while salaries above €60K correspond to fluent/native English levels.
What are companies looking for and offering?
The Tech Career Report is not only for candidates, but its also for companies: What are they offering? What professional profiles are most in demand? And what technologies?
Key points
Of the job roles companies look for the most are for Backend Development roles.
Of the other job perks offered by companies are related to teamwork (team building, external and internal training).
Of the positions managed by Manfred are 100% Remote.
Of the positions managed by Manfred are hybrid. Only 1.3% are fully on-site in an office environment.
Salary offered by employers vs. Salary wanted by candidates
Comparison between the salary offered by companies and the salary expected by candidates according to job roles.
This is one of the most revealing graphs in the report. It brings to light that the roles where there is the biggest gap between what candidates expect to be paid and what companies offer are the Technical Leadership roles. However, in Development positions, such as Backs, Fronts or Mobile, what is demanded and what is offered is pretty much in line. In fact, for Backend Developers, the salary offered often exceeds what is expected. Equally surprising are the Data roles: there is a gap of almost 13K between what Data Scientists expect to be paid and what companies are actually offering.
Most in-demand roles
Roles that companies sought out the most in 2023.
Programming roles are still the most in-demand: Backends, Frontends, Mobile or Full-Stack Devs. Systems/Infrastructure are the third most sought after. As for those working with Data, with the exception of Data Engineers, who account for 4.8% of the demand, they are not very well represented: Data Scientist and Analyst represent less than 2%.
Most commonly-found job perks
This graph shows the ten most popular benefits offered by companies and listed in our job offers.
These figures vary little over the years. The most offered job perks by companies are those related to team growth: teambuilding, training -both external and internal-. 7% of companies offer private health insurance. Although we do not currently have information on job perks most sought out by candidates, a few years ago we launched this study, with the arrival of COVIDgeddon, which can serve as a guideline.
Work set-ups on offer
Comparison between the three types of work set-ups companies who work with Manfred currently offer. Hybrid refers to the working partially remotely.
The majority of companies still offer remote work positions. However, the percentage of hybrid work has increased by 3% compared to last year. The demand for hybrid work, which used be higher than what was being offered, is thus equalised.
The share of job offers which are fully remote is 86%. Full time office work offers remain the least common.
The gender gap in technology
In a sector where there is a clear under-representation of women, it is even more interesting to understand how gender influences roles and salaries.
Key points
Of Product Designers are women. This is the highest representation of women in a technical role.
Female representation in the tech sector. This average is only exceeded in Product Design, Product Management, QA & Testing, Data Analysis & BI, and Project Management.
Female representation in the role of Tech Lead. This is the role least carried out by woman.
This is the pay gap between women and men when looking at professional profiles with over 10 years of experience.
Female employees vs. Male employees split by role
Comparison between male and female representation according to the different roles.
Unfortunately, the main conclusion that can be taken from this graph is that little or nothing has changed. In none of the roles in this graph does female representation reach 50%. The roles most closely linked to Development, Systems and Technical leadership have the least female presence. Design roles are where salaries are the most equal. And overall, Product roles have a higher female representation.
Female representation in the sector is 20% (compared to 80% male representation). This average is only exceeded in the following roles:
Salary aspirations by gender and role
Comparison of average salary by gender according to roles.
There is no professional role where salaries are equal or where women earn more than men. In every single role we looked at, there is a gender pay gap. In particular Mobile, Devops, Engineering Manager and Product Manager roles are where the difference is most noticeable. A male Engineering Manager can earn up to €11K more than a woman in the same role per year.
Compare average salaries by role and experience
Get an accurate picture of the gender pay gap with this calculator. Choose a role and experience range and our calculator will return the average salary for men and women.
Average salary by gender and level of experience
Comparison between the average salary based on gender according to years of experience.
Across all levels of professional experience, there is a gender pay gap. Having said that, it is not as obvious in more junior profiles, where the gap is less than €1K, while in professional profiles with over 10 years of experience, the gap can exceed €10K in some cases.
Methodology
This report was based on Manfred’s database, which currently counts over 37,000 professional profiles as of September 18th, 2023.
Years of Experience
Most Manfredites are Senior professionals with very good professional experience to their names. The proportion decreases as professional experience decreases.
Type of role
Almost 50 professional roles were included in the analysis, which can all be found in Manfred’s taxonomy.
To the right, you can see the 10 roles with the greatest levels of representation.
Gender
Because we don't ask about gender in our registration form. The alternative to using an API would be to conduct an anonymous survey among our users or to ask about gender in the onboarding and store it in a separate database without relating it to the users. Both alternatives would have prevented us from shedding light on the issue of the gender pay gap, due to lack of data and lack of technical resources to carry it out.
The GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) discourages it as it is not strictly necessary in order to identify the best candidates for a given job. And although it is not part of the data considered sensitive according to Art.9 of the GDPR, some groups do want to include it as such.
We have evaluated several alternatives, and, although we understand that this is not the best way to obtain the most realistic result, we believe that it does serve the purpose of shedding light on an existing and real problem within the sector.
- Women
- Men
- Unknown
This report was made possible with the help of our usual suspects: illustrations by Hugo Tobío and Álex Orbe, design by La Personnalité and layout by Swwweet. Thank you ❤️