Here’s how much digital and internet-related jobs in South Africa pay right now

New data published by recruitment specialist Adzuna finds that the average salary on digital vacancies has grown from around R330,000 in 2017 to R420,562 in February 2018.

While it dipped just below R400,000 in March 2018, it moved back up to R410,509 by mid-April, Adzuna said.

“South Africa is often seen as ‘slow to the party’ when it comes to developments in the Internet or digital space. This isn’t necessarily true, and the country has generated large-scale firms that have sold to even bigger international players in recent years,” it said.

It noted that strong growth in the sector is indicative of an industry that is coming of age, where skills are more readily available and more qualified individuals exist with better qualifications and experience.

“The industry has definitely advanced, one reason being that the skills needed to grow it are now more readily available.”

Breaking down the data further, Adzuna noted that average salary in Gauteng has moved higher at a faster pace to R456,023, than what has traditionally been seen as a tech hub, the Western Cape, where R352,400 was recorded. This puts the sector on line with the general payscale.

“Partly, this could be due to the high amount of senior roles at high salaries now available in the north of South Africa. A full sixth (17%) of the digital opportunities listed were in the range of R700,000 and above on an annual salary basis,” Adzuna said.

Job adverts, for example, for “Head of Digital” and “Senior Digital Consultant” have not been as forthcoming in 2014 as they are now. Again, the percentage was 20% in Gauteng, while only 13% of vacancies were in the highest salary bracket in the Cape, it said.

Salary levels aside, Adzuna’s data also showed there to be far more digital related activity in Gauteng with 1,250 job opportunities, versus 892 in the Western Cape, and 152 in KwaZulu-Natal.

“This effectively translates into Gauteng hosting over 50% of the countries digital jobs. It also demonstrates how Gauteng together with the Western Cape and KZN claim over 97% of the country’s digital vacancies. Of all the job ads, the most prominent positions were either in digital marketing (just over 20%) or fitted somehow into the digital media space (around 15%),” it said.

Digital skills have grown phenomenally in South Africa, for many reasons, Adzuna said. “More companies are spending more each year on advertising and other digital exploits, pushing the requirements for skills higher, while more experienced and better qualified job seekers are coming to the fore, having trained at institutions such as Webgrowth. South Africa’s digital future is bright.”

Read: South African companies are looking overseas for critical skills they can’t find here