2021 Chicago Tech Salaries

Chicago IT Salaries and Tech Market Insights for 2021

Despite the challenges within 2020, tech professionals and companies have risen to prove their value and provide necessary services and products when they’re needed most. The gap between tech talent supply and increasing demand has been widening, but the economic impact of the pandemic may be changing the course. The impact of this year’s challenges will continue into 2021, leaving many with more uncertainty and questions than answers when it comes to salaries and compensation.

• Do COVID-related challenges, like layoffs and a decrease in new jobs, mean there is more tech talent on the market for 2021?
• How is the pandemic and its influence on the market impacting 2021 Chicago IT salaries?
• How is remote work going to affect compensation, supply and demand in 2021?

As we share our perspective on the questions above in our 2021 IT Salary Guide, one thing is for certain: the tech hiring landscape is as competitive as ever, still presenting great opportunities for growth in tech innovation, careers and salaries. Our goal is to help provide the crucial job market data you need to set your expectations correctly when hiring for top tech talent or ensuring your tech salary is competitive in the current marketplace. 

INSIGHTS

Tech Market Experts

What tech hiring or job seeking trends
do you expect to see in 2021?

Phill Perkins
Associate Vice President

"2021 is going to be about establishing a cultural path forward. Are we fully remote forever? Do we hire people across the country or keep it time zone based? Should we keep a local component where engineers come to the office a few days a week, a month? One thing I can say for sure is candidates have strong preferences. I envision more folks gravitating towards jobs where there are at least a few days a month of in person time.

Kelsey Prisby
Executive Director

"Almost a year into a ‘new normal,' people have not only become used to additional flexibility in their work routine, but have designed ways to flourish. In 2021, even as we may shift away from WFH as a standard, I see a greater demand from candidates to maintain a more deconstructed work environment (with proven success now on their side), and with it a need for even more technology experts to keep our remote world connected.

Milenko Beslic
VP of Engineering

"Now that most of us have experienced a work from home setup for almost a year, as tech leaders we should be more open to looking outside our local markets to hire incredible, hidden tech talent. The long tail of the pandemic will go beyond 2021 for sure, so it's important to adapt and solve for the challenges we inevitably will continue to face while expanding our remote tech teams.

VARIANCES
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