What salaries do Ukrainian testers receive - winter 2023 [Аналитика DOU] - Aroged

Following the analysis of the level of salaries of Ukrainian IT developers in the winter of 2023, the profile resource DOU.UA conducted a similar study among testers. To prepare the report, 2364 questionnaires of QA specialists were analyzed.

The average salary of testers has not changed over the past six months and is $2,000. The exceptions are the salaries of tech leads, which increased by $100 after the summer fall, and the salaries of middles, which decreased by $50. Bonuses do not have much effect on QA salaries: only 20% of specialists receive them, and the median size of bonuses for those who receive them is $61 per month. 1% of the highest paid QA-specialists receive from $6500; 1% of the most expensive AQA – from $7950, Manual – from $4580. Experienced testers have increased salaries in the fourth apartment, that is, the difference in salaries of the most and least paid specialists of the same level has increased.

In Ukraine, the highest average salaries are for QA in Kyiv and the region ($2200), Lviv and the region ($2000) and Chernivtsi and the region ($2000). In Kyiv and Dnipro, the highest salaries are in Automation QA: $3363 and $3350 against $3000 in Ukraine as a whole, and Manual QA salaries are at the average level ($1500). In Lviv, Manual QA has the highest compensation ($1600), while AQA has the highest compensation ($3000).

The highest salaries are for testers who are now abroad: the median is $2,500. This applies to both AQA (average salary of $4,300 versus $3,000 for those who are now in Ukraine) and Manual QA ($1,917 versus $1,500). Experienced specialists traveled abroad more often, which affected median salaries: 46% of QAs who are now abroad have the Senior+ level versus 32% among those in Ukraine.

Average Automation QA salaries continued to grow: $85 for half a year. First of all, this applies to experienced specialists: $100, up to $2600, for Middle and $400, up to $4300, for Senior. Junior salaries, on the contrary, decreased by $100 to $900. The average salaries of Manual QA remained virtually unchanged: Junior’s salary increased by $50, and the rest remained unchanged. Experienced General QA specialists were paid more in the second half of the year: +$300 for Senior level, +$125 for Team Lead. The salaries of juniors and middles even fell by $50 and $100, respectively.

QA professionals using C#/.NET ($3,000), TypeScript ($3,000), and Java ($2,950) have the highest median salaries. For those who choose Python and JavaScript, they are lower: $2700 and $2500. TypeScript, Python, and Java salaries continued to rise in H2 2022: TypeScript +$250, Python +$100, and Java +$50. First of all, the specialists of the Middle+ level. The average salary for testers choosing C#/.NET decreased by $200 and returned to the level of December 2021. For QAs using JavaScript, compensation continues to decline – by $50 per six months. Java remains the main QA language. For 37% in AQA it is the main language. Next up is Python and JavaScript.

The difference in salaries between Manual QA and Automation QA is practically not noticeable in the first year of work, but appears already during the second year. After three years of work, the difference in the median salary of specialists in these specializations exceeds $1,000. The level of English proficiency directly affects the salaries of both beginners and experienced professionals: the median salaries of those who know English at a good level are higher than the salaries of those who do not know it or know it poorly.

The median salaries of testers specializing in AQA and General QA are less than the salaries of testers. AQA women have an average salary of $3,000 versus $3,325 for men. In General QA – $2450 versus $3000. The median salaries of experienced specialists differ the most: for Senior and Team Lead, the difference can reach $500–700. The reasons for this are difficult to unambiguously determine: this may be due not only to the gender of specialists, but also to the characteristics of their qualifications, work or company. In Manual QA, the difference in compensation between men and women is less noticeable. The median salaries of men and women do not differ ($1,500), but there is a slight difference in the median salaries of experienced professionals: male team leads receive $150 more than women in the same position.

Testers are gradually returning to Kyiv: if in the summer 24% of QA lived here, then in December it was already 37% (before the full-scale war – 42%).