London & Partners: London’s Technology Workers among Most Experienced and Highest Paid in Europe

London’s IT programmers are some of the highest paid and most experienced in the world, according to a new report from online developer community, Stack Overflow and London & Partners, the Mayor of London’s promotional company.

Analysis of over 56,000 Stack Overflow users shows that on average, London’s developers have 7.8 years’ experience under their belt compared to 6.5 years for the global developer workforce, and greater than other European tech hubs such as Stockholm, Berlin and Paris.

Developers are being attracted to London by the city’s competitive salaries. London’s developers are among some of the highest paid in Europe earning an average annual salary of $79,500.97 (£55,460), which is more than in Dublin, Berlin and Madrid. However, London still lags behind the United States, where developers earn an average $95,218 (£66,400)

Further analysis of Stack Overflow’s users shows that there is a better gender diversity on tech teams in London, with over one third of London respondents revealing that they work with two or more women on their development teams (5 per cent higher than the national average), and 52 per cent ‘agreeing completely that diversity in the workplace is important’ (6 per cent higher than the national average). London’s tech developers are also more content with their jobs, compared to workers across the rest of the UK (31.56 per cent love their jobs vs 30.98, the UK average).

Alexa Scordato, Director of Marketing at Stack Overflow said: ‘Developers are literally writing the script to our future. Every line of code they write has the potential to impact our lives. That’s why it’s so important to recognise the value of technical talent, and treat developers with the respect they deserve.”

Eileen Burbidge, Mayor of London Technology Ambassador and Partner at Passion Capital said: “London’s talent pool is fuelling the growth of the city’s digital ecosystem. With more software developers than New York and San Francisco, London has emerged as a leading centre in areas such as fintech and cyber security. As a truly international city, London is one of the world’s most diverse tech hubs and it is refreshing that we are seeing more programmers coming into the ecosystem — male and female alike

London’s booming fintech sector offers strong employment opportunities for developers. According to separate research from EY, Britain’s fintech ecosystem ranked higher than New York and California and currently employs around 61,000 workers across the UK.”

Harsh Sinha, VP Engineering at TransferWise, said: “Hiring the right people is crucial to the success of any company, but especially when you’re a high-growth business expanding internationally at speed. Finding great developers is particularly tough. But there’s a strong emerging developer community in London.”