Tech salaries tend to go higher every year. And this tendency only grows with the increased use of digital platforms in our society. But this could change with the Covid-19 pandemic and everyone working remotely. Here is what you need to know to understand how the pandemic is impacting salaries.

The Ongoing Debate

Tech salaries for remote workers is a debate that has been going on for a while. Before, remote workers were few and far between. It wasn’t so common to hear about an issue with remote salaries. But what changed this year was the massive transition into remote working because of the pandemic. 

Before this year, the tech industry was completely reluctant to embrace remote work, even though tech professions are perfect for that modality. Their reluctance was because they believe that their team had to collaborate efficiently in the same location. But they didn’t have a choice this year, and it showed the sector how they could continue their operations remotely without a problem. 

Thus, the debate was born on how to compensate remote workers. Tech professionals generally live in tech hubs, where the cost of living is around 30% higher than the national average. With the pandemic, companies saw the benefits of having remote workers and offering this benefit permanently. With this opportunity, tech professionals are deciding to move to cities with cheaper cost of living. 

What tech corporations offer in exchange for remote working is that workers salaries are adjusted according to the new location. This could mean pay cuts of 10% to 30%. Some employees believe they shouldn’t receive a pay cut when they are doing exactly the same job. But the other side believes that they shouldn’t have the same salary as professionals that live in cities even 40% cheaper than where they live. 

It also creates the problem that every time companies want to hire someone new they will waste more time in calculating salaries and compensation. In the end, it will become easier to just set a number that is convenient no matter the location. And what will be the case of employees that want to work remotely for the opportunity to travel around the world?

Having a methodology of localized compensation complicates matters more than it resolves them. As already mentioned, it is an ongoing debate, and the industry hasn’t reached a definite solution. Each company right now is implementing its own way of calculating compensation, and we don’t know how that will impact salaries yet. 

More Competition

Remote working will also impact the industry by increasing competition from all sides. It means companies will have access to a wider talent pool because they can hire from anywhere in the world. And for the employees, they can apply to jobs from many more companies that are in other countries. 

Depending on how each company decides to calculate compensations, tech salaries could fluctuate a lot. A possible outcome is that tech salaries worldwide will be closer together, which will differ from how it is today. Salaries for tech workers are very different from Europe to the US and Latin America. Whether this competition will make salaries go up or down is still unclear. 

More Accessibility

Remote working will help increase accessibility in the industry. The tech sector is famous for lacking diversity, and many companies are trying to improve this issue. Remote working will help create more inclusive environments where disable people and stay-at-home moms can work from their homes’ comfort. 

For example, women are a minority in the industry, and many tend to leave their jobs behind when they become mothers because it doesn’t offer the flexibility they need. Remote positions will allow a web developer or data scientist the flexibility required to work and be a mother at the same time. 

In Summary

Remote working is changing the tech industry to the point where big corporations like Facebook are thinking of transitioning their team into fully remote modalities. How it will impact the salaries is still unclear, but they will probably continue to be higher than the national average even if they go down. 
Thus, if you are wondering if studying a tech profession is still worth it,  the answer is definitely yes. You will have a career that makes a real impact, and you will still have the awesome perks and benefits that come with working for a tech company. If you want to learn how you can become a tech professional without a degree, you can visit Bootcamp Rankings.