Other than high-tech, 2014 was a difficult and eventful year, with budget cuts, layoffs, Operation Protective Edge, and cost of living protests. In contrast, 2014 was a peak year for high tech in almost every parameter: Financing, stock exchange offerings, exits, and demand for programmers. According to Central Bureau of Statistics figures, the number of available jobs in November was over 20% higher than in November 2013; 7.7% of those jobs were for software engineers. High tech accounted for a third of Israel's economic growth.
Despite the great public discourse about the cost of living in Israel and the brain drain, a comparison of high-tech salaries in Israel with overseas salaries shows that the average salary difference for most jobs was insignificant. A comparison of average salaries according to data from CPSJOBS with figures from Glassdoor, one of the world's largest job-seeking websites, gives interesting results. On the average, high-quality Israeli high-tech quality assurance personnel earn more than in the US, and only slightly less than in the UK. Israeli software developers earn more than their British and German colleagues, and Israeli mobile application developers and development managers earn more on the average than their overseas counterparts. For marketing campaign managers, currently very much in demand in the Israeli online sector, Israelis salaries are in second place, only 5% behind the US.
Salary raises
High-tech salaries either rose or stayed the same in 2014, compared with 2013. Salaries of Java software developers with up to two years of experience were unchanged at NIS 15,000-18,000, but software developers with up to five years of experience earned NIS 17,000-25,000, compared with NIS 16,000-25,000 in 2013. A dot.net developer with up to six years of experience earned NIS 23,000-28,000, compared with NIS 22,000-25,000 in 2013.
Developers for Android and iPhone devices with up to two years of experienced earned NIS 14,000-18,000 in 2014, compared with NIS 13,000-18,000 in 2013. Developers for these devices in management positions earned NIS 26,000-30,000, compared with NIS 25,000-28,000 in 2013.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 1, 2015
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