Pandemic-driven digital transformation efforts have directly impacted the DevOps landscape. These transformational enterprise shifts have forced companies to offer more competitive compensation and invest in top talent to ensure sustainable success.
The 2021 DevOps Salary Report found that more workers are moving into higher income levels than at any time in the past three years. Companies with high-evolution DevOps are compensating their employees at the highest level, with more managers and practitioners entering the salary group earning more than $150,000.
Regional salaries gap
The report found that while there was significant global growth in DevOps salaries, the Asia Pacific (APAC) lags other regions in the highest salary brackets.
In the highest salary bands, Asia Pacific lags other regions in terms of wages. Only four per cent of managers and practitioners combined earned more than $150,000 in 2021, compared to six per cent in Europe/U.K., 12% in Canada, and 35% in the United States.
However, when it comes to salaries of $100,000-plus, Asia Pacific is ahead by 33% against Europe/U.K. (24%) which is consistent with findings from 2019 and 2020.
Rachel Lew, senior director, APAC, Puppet commented that even as APAC markets such as Singapore and Australia continue to become synonymous with innovation and transformation, organisations must digitally transform and modernise faster than ever.
“Companies must keep pace with the competitive compensation globally to attract and nurture DevOps talent and critical skills in great demand,” she added.
One bright spot in the report is the steady increase in earnings for women across the regions, roles and industries.
Respondents working in financial services earned the highest salaries, followed by those working in healthcare and technology. There have been substantial increases across all sectors, with financial services nearly doubling from 16% in 2020 to 29% in 2021.
Gender salary gap
The report noted salary gap between male and female practitioners is closing within higher income brackets, as women make a steady, potentially long-term shift into higher earnings. More than double the number of women entered the higher income level of $150,000-plus than the year before (17% in 2021 compared to 8% in 2020 and 10% in 2019).
Companies at a high level of DevOps evolution continue to compensate their employees at the highest level, with practitioner salaries doubling and manager salaries nearly tripling from 2020 to 2021. The share of those earning more than $150,000 at high-evolution firms more than doubled to 20% in 2021 from 8% in 2020.
Puppet CFO Abby Kearns hopes that the gradual decrease in the wage gap points to a long-term shift in pay equity. “It is exciting to see more women increasingly enter higher income brackets, especially in DevOps, which has historically been a male-dominated area. As a DevOps leader, I am inspired by this progression, and I look forward to seeing more equality in wages and gender parity across DevOps overall,” she continued.
