Tech Contractors Could Fare Better Outside Of London

A new study has revealed that technical workers and contractors could be better off financially if they choose to work outside of London’s ‘Silicon Roundabout,’ The Telegraph reports.

According to the Tech Cities Job Watch Report, conducted by IT recruitment specialist Experis, cities outside of the capital can offer more competitive daily rates and a better standard of living – despite the fact that the large majority (72%) of advertised tech vacancies are for London-based companies.

The findings show that more than 54,000 IT jobs were advertised between October and December last year, paying an average UK salary of £42,671. Whilst a typical London salary paid around £51,000, those in cities such as Cambridge or Birmingham were a respective £40,994 and £39,733. Glasgow and Bristol rounded off the top five, each with £39,143 and £37,859 respectively.

 However, the factors of lower-cost living and cheaper rent and property prices, mean that those living outside of London could still be better off than those being paid higher salaries.

In addition to this, it was found that contract workers were paid more outside of the capital. Big data workers could earn £600 a day in Cambridge, for example, compared with just £498 in London; and Bristol paid a respective £521 and £390 a day for cloud or web development jobs, compared with London’s daily rates of £452 and £367.

Geoff Smith, managing director at Experis Europe, explained this shift by “the increasing number of London-based companies establishing remote working centres to ensure their hunt for IT skills doesn’t miss out on talent that sees more appeal in the quality of life outside the capital.”

“With the continued investment in rail and road infrastructure to better connect northern towns and cities, the future is looking bright for businesses that take the right steps to manage their talent pool,” he added.