Tech sector salaries: What can I earn as an IT graduate?

Should I negotiate?

At entry level there is rarely room to negotiate a higher salary, however, some IT companies do have salary ranges. Your placement within these will depend on your academic qualifications, previous experience and performance in the selection process.

You should research and find out exactly what level of experience and education will land you the starting salary you deserve. Recent data from the Central Statistics Office found that graduates from technology courses earn significantly more in their first five years after leaving college than other graduates, earning an average of €815 a week.

Do postgrads earn more?

If you possess a master's degree or PhD, some employers may place you on a higher starting salary. A postgraduate degree is one factor that could contribute to a higher starting salary.

Future earnings

The average salary for an experienced IT professional varies greatly depending on whether they are in support or development or are a contractor. Personal motivation and your willingness to push yourself will determine how much you can earn.

According to research by recruitment agency CPL, the median salary for a junior developer is €38,000, this rises to €55,000 for an associate software engineer and €82,000 for a full stack developer. Median salaries for senior engineers rise to €90-100k.

The average salary for systems administrators is €55k. For systems developers and systems support engineers, it is €60k. It then exceeds €80k for managerial roles and cloud engineers.

Average salaries for data professionals start at €65k for business intelligence and data analysts. Data engineers earn a median income of €85k.

When looking at cyber-security specialisations, according to the Brightwater Salary Survey 2023, an information security engineer earns between €60k and €85k. Software application security specialists and security operations engineers earn a similar amount. Information security architects and network security architects earn between €80k and €110k.

Remember that you will need to gain experience and develop and prove your experience in a work environment before you can command any of these higher salaries, and that continuous professional development is a very important part of developing in the IT sector. Your skills are a vital part of your employability toolkit, but you’ll need to match them with a willingness to work and learn and soft skills such as communication and teamwork.