Top tech stats: Developer salaries, Facebook news consumption and more

Welcome to your roundup of some of the past week’s most interesting surveys, statistics and reports relevant to those involved in the UK tech industry.

This week we bring you the latest stats on developer salaries, news consumption on Facebook, the seeming disconnect between corporate culture and digital transformation and research looking at the state of Scotland’s tech sector.

Surveying developers

Some 45% of developers say the feel underpaid.

That’s according to Stack Overflow’s ‘Q2 Developer Ecosystem report,’ which also found that developers don’t always get the benefits they want – including their preference for remote working options, flexible working hours and professional development.

Unsurprisingly, the best paid software engineers were in Greater London, where the top 5% of developers earn over £98,000 per annum.

In stark contrast, more than 50% of developers surveyed in the Midlands, Wales and Northern Ireland earn less than £35,000 a year.

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Developers feel this divide, with 64% of them feeling ‘greatly’ or ‘somewhat underpaid’ in Northern Ireland.

Commenting on the report’s findings, Eileen Burbidge, partner at Passion Capital and chair of Tech City UK, said: “If there’s anything I’ve learned as an early stage investor, it’s that it’s all about the team – Every. Single. Time. The best ideas will still fail commercially if they don’t have the right people working to see them through.

“Success comes down to execution, and for tech startups this means securing and developing the best technical talent whilst establishing and nurturing a positive culture to retain them. If a founder can rise to that challenge, then they’re well on their way,” Burbidge added.

Facebook news consumption

A third (36%) of UK adults use Facebook as their main source of daily news.

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The research by Compare Cover also found that nearly half of Brits (49%) admitted to using Facebook for keeping up-to-date with others while still keeping a low profile, while 62% of respondents said they used Facebook to keep in touch with family and friends.

Compare Cover’s business development director, Mike Preston, said: “With the term ‘fake news’ dominating the media at the moment, it’s really interesting to see that the UK public are turning towards social networking sites for their news rather than to traditional media, as they might have done previously.

“It may well be that this offers a much more tailored approach to reading the news than we’ve experienced in the past, because we know that we are more likely to be interested in stories that our peers are interested in. What’s evident from these results is that Facebook and similar sites have provided Brits with the opportunity to decide for themselves which stories hold more interest and validity than others, and can easily recommend those stories to their Facebook friends.”

One in 10 respondents admitted to using Facebook because they don’t want to miss out, with those in Northern Ireland (27%) the most concerned about not being in the loop. Meanwhile, 6% said they used the social media platform for work purposes.

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Corporate culture and innovation

New research produced by Capgemini has shown that 62% of respondents perceive corporate culture as the main barrier to digital transformation at work.

This, the research adds, suggests the digital cultural divide has widened by 7% points compared to six years ago.

The report surveyed 1,700 respondents across 340 organisations across eight countries (including UK) and also found that some  40% of senior-level executives surveyed believe their firms have a digital culture – yet only 27% of employees agree with this statement.

Just 7% of companies feel their organization can test new ideas and deploy them quickly.

Interestingly, 85% of top executives believe their companies promote collaboration internally, while just 41% of employees agreed with this premise.

Scottish tech

Some 70% of people surveyed believe there is a disconnect between university focus and Scotland’s tech industry requirements.

The survey, conducted by Technology Scotland, also found that 64% of respondents believe there is a current skills gap within their company.

Worryingly, 61% of participants said they had experienced at least one skills shortage vacancy in the past 12 months. The vacancy, they added, has remained open for over three months.

Despite this, 89% said they said they do not struggle to retain staff, while 87% highlighted they consider the Scottish tech sector to be an attractive place to do business.

Stephen Taylor, CEO of Technology Scotland, said that the results show that the sector remains “vibrant, active and resilient” despite a number of skills and recruitment challenges.