The IT industry slowdown has reached Poland. Decreased demand for services and a global economic downturn led to salary cuts. However, not all IT areas were affected equally. Some specializations even saw pay increases. We detail this in our IT Salary Report 2024.
The global IT crisis had varied effects on specialist salaries in Poland. Our market analysis reveals a complex picture with decreases in some areas and increases in other key specializations.
Salary Decreases
Over the past year, we observed significant rate cuts for some specialist groups:
- Angular developers on B2B contracts saw an 11.5% decrease,
- Java specialists on B2B experienced an 8% rate reduction,
- C++ programmers on employment contracts saw a 15.5% salary drop,
- PHP experts also felt rate cuts,
- Mobile technology specialists experienced up to a 21% decrease in extreme cases.
Stability in Infrastructure
Despite overall uncertainty in IT, infrastructure sector salaries remain relatively stable. Most junior, mid, and senior positions saw no significant changes compared to last year. Exceptions include:
- Service Desk Manager: 11.5% decrease for full-time employees and 4% for B2B contracts
- Cloud Software Engineers: 3% increase
Growing Demand for Experts in Key Fields
The IT Salary Report 2024 indicates rising demand in three main specializations:
- Data analysis
- Artificial intelligence
- Cybersecurity
Significant salary increases were noted:
- Data Scientist: +10%
- Machine Learning Engineer: +14%
- Information Security Specialist: +20.5%
- IAM Engineer: +11.5%
- Penetration Tester: +10.5%
Reasons for Market Differentiation
The current situation in the Polish IT market results from several important factors. Primarily, Poland consistently attracts foreign investors, offering a unique combination of high programming skills with competitive costs compared to the United States or Western Europe.
At the same time, local businesses are intensifying digitization processes, generating increased demand for IT specialists capable of comprehensive business transformation.
Additionally, the introduction of new legal regulations, such as the amendment to the National Cybersecurity System Act or the implementation of the Uniform Control File, forces companies to invest in advanced IT solutions.
Challenges for Juniors and B2B Contract Trend
The market differentiates its approach to IT specialists based on their experience. For example, juniors currently face greater difficulties in the job market. Companies prefer experienced specialists who can immediately contribute to project implementation. We also observe a growing popularity of B2B contracts, which is analyzed in detail in our IT Salary Report 2024.
Future Outlook
Looking ahead, we can predict several key trends that will shape the IT market in the coming months.
Companies will likely adopt a more balanced approach to recruitment, emphasizing quality over quantity of hired specialists. In this context, soft skills and the ability to adapt to a rapidly changing technological environment will gain importance, becoming as crucial as technical competencies.
Employers will face the challenge of developing thoughtful compensation strategies that allow them to attract and retain the best talent while maintaining financial flexibility in uncertain times.
This evolution of the IT job market will require both sides – employers and employees – to be ready for continuous learning and adaptation to new industry realities.
