The job of chief information officer is at the very top of the salary pyramid, with an annual salary of €250,000 gross, the highest observed. This is an attractive salary, well above the average salary of €70,000, but one that can be attained after eight years of experience. And when we look at experience--which inevitably affects the level of pay--some nuances emerge.
In the ninth edition of its remuneration study, the recruitment firm details, sector by sector, the salary ranges according to experience: less than three years; three to five years; five to eight years and more than eight years. The study focuses mainly on executive and expert positions, i.e., 291 professions, and the salaries shown do not take variable elements into account.
In terms of recruitment, the IT, finance and health professions “continue to monopolise the top positions in terms of both the most dynamic and the most penurious trends,” adds the director of Hays Luxembourg.
However, in terms of pay, these three sectors do not necessarily pay the best. At the start of a career, for example (with one year of experience), the best salaries are offered in the supply chain (€90,000 annual salary for a purchasing manager) and in construction (also €90,000 for an operations manager in a general contracting firm). In the finance and accounting sector, at the start of a career, the position of internal audit manager offers the best pay (€85,000).
With five years of experience, the top three best-paid jobs remain similar, with one exception. In first place is now the job of internal audit director in finance and accounting (€119,000). Purchasing managers with five years of experience come second, with an annual salary of €113,000. Next comes the job of operations manager in the building and public works sector (€110,000).
Finally, for people with experience of more than eight years, the top three changes completely. The best pay is in technology, with an annual salary of €250,000 for a chief information officer. Next come the legal professions, with salaries of €205,000 for a head of compliance, a partner (legal) or a head of risk.
Rising salaries in sales, marketing and legal professions
More generally, Hays notes that remuneration trends are not all following the same pattern. In the assistance sector, for example, junior profiles have seen their salaries rise mainly as a result of the indexes; for high value-added profiles, “companies are offering more attractive packages.”
Salaries in sales and marketing are trending upwards, while they are tending to stagnate in HVAC and electrical engineering, as well as in technology. But for the latter sector, “companies are prepared to review their pay policies to continue to stand out and attract talent,” according to the recruitment consultancy.
In legal and compliance functions, on the other hand, salaries have increased overall, “to retain talent.” In human resources, salaries are in line with the market average.
Focus on jobs with a future, according to Hays
In its study, the recruitment consultancy also highlights what it considers to be the jobs of the future, either because the profession has undergone significant changes in terms of remuneration, or because the position is said to be in short supply and is experiencing a shortage of candidates. This is the case for project managers in architecture, legal assistants, fund administration officers, building site supervisors, sales engineers, management controllers, facilities managers, property accountants, industrial automation engineers, AML/KYC officers, people and culture managers, transport managers (in logistics) and business analysts in technology.
In our infographic below, take a look at the salaries paid for different professions. Using the filter at the top left, select your sector of activity to display the corresponding jobs. Then simply click on the job to display a drop-down pop-up. A magnifying glass icon 🔍 indicates which occupations are in short supply.
This article was originally published in .