It is not a secret that work in the IT area has been in high demand all over the world for a long time, including in Portugal. We already wrote that the profession of a programmer is one of the highest paid in Portugal. Furthermore, at the beginning of 2022, we published very detailed material on the topic of IT work in Portugal, where we talked about salaries, working conditions, etc., so if you are interested in this issue, we recommend that you start reading this article. Today we are going to talk about the popular trends and salaries in the Portuguese IT market in 2022.
Some significant differences of the Portuguese IT market
In our first article about the IT sector in Portugal, there were comments that everything looks strange, salaries are low, programming languages are outdated, and so on. It is essential to understand that each country has its specifics, and although the field of IT seems universal and familiar to the whole world, it would still be strange to think that programmers in India, Portugal, Germany, and the USA will obtain the same salary and work under the same conditions. We all understand that the lower the standard of living in the country, the lower the salaries for highly qualified specialists of the same level.
I know real cases when programmers, passing an interview for a remote job, asked a salary question and received an answer "Salary will depend on the country of your residence." That is, if you live in Portugal, you will obtain a certain amount, and if you live in Germany, your salary with the same qualification will be several times more.
Yes, it sounds highly unfair, but this is the characteristic of capitalist society, where people and companies want a quality product or a good employee as cheaply as possible.
International startups and information companies extended their offices in Portugal not to pay employees fair salaries. They did it only to reduce personnel costs.
Understanding this simple fact is vital to decide for yourself. If you want to work as a salaried employee in the IT area in Portugal, then prepare to acquire a salary below the average level accepted in the world.
If you are not satisfied with such a salary level, you can also immigrate to Portugal, not as an employee, but as a freelancer who received one of the subtypes of the D visa.
And now, let's finally get acquainted with the current trends in the Portugal IT sector in 2022.
Portugal IT market trends in 2022
Landing.Jobs portal releases a very detailed report with an analysis of the Portugal IT sector.
You can download the Full Global report Tech Talent Trends 2022 here or here, and today we will analyze the most interesting trends from this study, which was conducted from January to March 2022. Its results are based on the answers of more than 2,000 respondents permanently living in Portugal.
In the introductory part of this report, we are told that the 2020-2021 coronavirus pandemic has significantly changed the Portuguese labor market for programmers. When it became clear that remote work was not a luxury but a necessity, Portuguese programmers began looking for work in foreign companies. Foreign companies, realizing how much they could save on hiring Portuguese specialists, began aggressively hiring Portuguese. As a result, this had a significant impact on both the availability of local personnel and salaries.
On the other hand, Portuguese companies still want to avoid putting up with the globalization of this field and are in no hurry to hire specialists from abroad for remote work or to move to Portugal. As a result, only 8.9% of IT specialists in the country are recognized as foreigners. For comparison, in Europe, this figure is 12%, and in North America - 38%.
Well, let's move on to the analysis of the most exciting trends from this report.
Where do IT specialists live and work in Portugal?
As shown in the diagram below, more than 55% of specialists in this area live and work in the Lisbon region, while the Greater Porto area accounts for only 16.5%.
What is the experience of Portuguese IT specialists?
In the diagram below, we see that 48% of programmers in Portugal belong to the Senior level, having more than 9 years of work experience.
What are the most popular programming languages in Portugal?
When SQL occupies the first line in the list below, JavaScript, HTML/CSS, Python, Java, Bash/Shell/PowerShell, TypeScript, C#, and PHP are also extremely popular in Portugal.
Office or remote work?
Still, the pandemic took its toll, and in Portugal, where companies generally were always highly skeptical of remote work, they gradually began to switch to this format.
At the moment, only 6% of IT specialists in the country work in the office permanently, and the remaining share of employees works either entirely remotely or in a mixed format when it is allowed to work from home several days a week, but sometimes it is necessary to appear in the office.
Who works for Portuguese IT companies?
As we can see below, Portuguese companies are highly conservative, and more than 90% of IT employees are local Portuguese. About 6.6% are Brazilians. That is, almost 98% of tech specialists in the country are people to whom the Portuguese language is native.
This is an exciting statistic and a significant trend. For example, more than 30% of specialists in this specialization are recognized as foreigners in the USA. This indicates a certain conservatism of Portuguese companies and their hesitation to attract foreign personnel. Could this be due to low salaries? We will answer this question further.
Why do Portuguese specialists consider working in other countries?
Sure, because of the salary, which only confirms our opinion above. Almost 30% of Portuguese IT employees want to move to another country for a higher salary, and 21% are considering relocation to improve their standard of living.
How much do programmers earn in Portugal?
Surprisingly, the fact is that compared to 2021, salaries in the Portuguese IT sector have increased by more than 36.5%. Most likely, this is because foreign companies began to actively "hunt" for Portuguese programmers during the pandemic. As a result, in order not to lose all employees, Portuguese companies had to start raising salaries.
The diagram below shows that specialists in the Lisbon region in Portugal earn more than programmers in other regions.
What about education?
Although formal work in the IT area often doesn't require an academic or higher education, let's not forget how conservative Portuguese companies are.
So, in the diagram below, we see that specialists with higher education in Portugal earn significantly more than self-taught people or people who have completed Bootcamps.
Salary level depending on gender
The diagram below shows that specialists in administrative positions earn 1.5 times more than developers.
Unfortunately, the trend of gender equality has not yet reached Portugal, and women earn 30% less than men for the same positions.
The salary level depends on the position
In the diagram below, we see that the highest salaries in the industry are obtained by employees in administrative positions, which is very logical. At the same time, most posts assume a salary of about 40 thousand euros per year.
Salaries for Junior and Senior employees
But only those employees who have more than 6 years of work experience can count for a salary of 40 thousand euros per year in Portugal. Therefore, junior specialists acquire very little, and it is for this reason that at the beginning of our article, we discussed the fact that their proportion in the Portuguese IT sector is extremely small. Most likely, newly minted programmers immediately leave Portugal to work in other countries because their salaries slightly exceed 1,500 euros, which is extremely low for the global industry.
Salary level by position
If you are interested in how much Portuguese IT employees earn, you can find below a detailed table with annual salaries depending on experience and position. The percentage of its increase compared to 2021 is indicated in parentheses next to the salary.
Salaries for administrative positions are as follows:
Conclusions
Before making any conclusions, it is essential to remember that there is no point in comparing Portugal with one's own country or any other country. Each country is unique in its own way, and salaries and working conditions are maintained at the intersection of supply and demand.
After analyzing this report, the primary positive trend that I would like to note is that Portuguese companies finally began to significantly increase their employees' salaries in 2022 so as not to lose the highly qualified IT specialists who are increasingly choosing to use remote work for foreign companies.
Note in the comments what you think about the trends of the Portuguese IT industry, and would you agree to work with such conditions in Portugal?
We wish you a chance in your job search in any country in the world, and we look forward to seeing you in Portugal!
