The salaries of technology workers are 10 times higher than the average labor income in Ecuador, which reaches USD 303.
An experienced worker in the technology sector in Ecuador receives a salary of up to USD 3,000 per month.
This is supported by a recent study by the business consultancy Mambo, the Ecuadorian Chamber of Innovation and Technology (Citec) and the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF).
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To get to this information, more than 800 workers in the technology sector were surveyed, such as developers, software architects and support analysts.
The wages of workers in the technology sector are 10 times higher than the average labor income in the country, which reaches USD 303. They are also equivalent to four times the average earnings of an employee affiliated with social security, which amounts to USD 778 per month. month.
Tech workers earning $3,000 salaries are at large and mid-sized companies, which have a better chance of retaining talent. This is because the annual turnover of these firms exceeds USD 1 million.
In contrast, in a microenterprise, a technology worker earns monthly income of up to USD 1,000. Small business sales do not exceed USD 100,000 a year.
Greater demand
The salaries of technology workers are better compared to other sectors due to two factors.
The first is a greater demand for these professionals, due to digital acceleration, after the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The number of jobs available is greater than the number of people who meet the required skills,” says the report. In Ecuador there is an annual deficit of 9,000 programmers, says Citec.
The second aspect that affects the increase in the salary of technology professionals is their specialization. The majority of workers in this sector, specifically 91.3%, have a third or fourth level degree.
In this scenario, computer systems careers are among the 15 that gain the most interest among young people in the country, according to the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation (Senescyt).
Little competitive
However, the salaries of technology workers in Ecuador are low compared to the remuneration they receive in other countries.
For example, in Germany a programmer earns 80,000 euros per year, which is equal to USD 77,628 per year or USD 6,469 per month.
“The best technology companies do not seek to lower costs, but to find the best talent,” explains Fernando Rivera, managing partner of BuenTrip Ventures, the first international venture capital fund operating in Ecuador.
In this, David Paredes, director of the accounting platform ContApp, agrees, who says that “the talent is so good that companies from the United States and Europe are looking for Ecuadorian programmers.“
Two international firms that are hiring technology professionals in Ecuador, according to Rivera, are:
- The American Thoughtworks, dedicated to software strategy, design and engineering. Its revenues amounted to USD 1.07 billion in 2021.
- Argentina’s Globant, which specializes in software engineering and information technology. Its income reached USD 1,297 million in 2021.
Seedbeds and training
Not being able to compete with the salaries offered in other countries, some firms in Ecuador have designed two actions to attract technology professionals.
The first has been to look for talent in the country’s universities, which are hotbeds for technology professionals, through internship programs.
The second action has been to hire profiles with little experience to train them internally, says Rivera.
Given the lack of resources and professionals with experience in the area, 65% of firms in Ecuador choose to train their workers in technology and digital tools, according to a study by Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC).