Considering the global pandemic crisis and the challenging restrictions imposed, many new grads and existing IT employees are likely to be questioning the resilience of various industry sectors. Nobody wants to be caught out finding themselves suddenly redundant, or at the receiving end of dwindling salary packages in a field they’ve invested countless years and energy into carving out a successful career. Or in the case of those recently graduated with substantial student loans to pay off, to discover their subject major is no longer a shoo-in for a high paying job or maybe even employment at all. Sure, the future is still full of uncertainties, but it seems timely to reevaluate which IT industry sectors and job roles are continuing to command excellent paydays as current areas of high demand.

Where to find the best IT payouts in Hong Kong in 2021.

Along with the Covid-19 disruptions to the workplace, Hong Kong businesses have also had to weather the turmoil wrought by social unrest – some surviving better than others. Although the Hong Kong employment market and economy took a significant dip earlier in 2020 due to these combined factors, it started to recover in the latter part. Thanks to substantial investment by private equity in Technology, internet, Healthcare, Life Sciences, and associated industries, hiring needs in 2021 have been strong in these areas leading to stiff competition for talent. With this healthy bounce back, companies and sectors are willing to offer competitive salary packages to the right candidates. You can feel reassured by this that Hong Kong remains, and looks likely to stay in the immediate future, as an important hub for tech innovation. As well, you can take heart from the fact that the demand for tech skills outmatches the current supply. As a consequence, a top tech job here has the potential of earning you huge amounts of money along with skyrocketing your career growth. So what IT sectors are the best earners in HK in 2021?

Keep in mind that salaries differ between companies depending on your skills, knowledge, and experience.

1) Head of Legal in Financial and Fintech Industries. You can expect to make anywhere between HKD2.7million to HKD3.5million per annum.

2) Digital transformation within the Banking and Financial Services has a strong focus in HK. The introduction of virtual banks in the near future is seeing a robust demand for leadership roles in the Tech discipline, especially within Financial Services. A Chief Information Officer here can earn a salary of HKD2.4million p.a.

3) Digital Banking Director. Online-only banks in HK have caused a stir in the banking world. By the end of 2020, there were 8 such banks in HK. As a result, in 2021 a Digital Banking Director can command up to HKD1.6 million p.a.

4) CTO (Chief Technology Officer). With 2020’s Covid restrictions, many businesses have moved their operations online. CTOs are needed to facilitate this and can earn HKD1.6million p.a. in 2021.

For newbies to the Tech Industry, there are distinct advantages gained by moving into it apart from its resilience e.g., globally, the tech industry compensates their employees well, not only will you get a higher take home salary than most other industries, you’ll get attractive perks and benefits, such as, working from home options, flexi-time etc. As well, you’ll have the availability for freelance work which will suit millennials who prefer to work on a project-by-project basis rather than on one long term project with one employer. Candidates best suited to this industry will be ones looking for a career where their growth is based on their outcomes and where their experience and position in the hierarchy is less important than in traditional industries.

If you’re a fresh graduate, and uncertain of which IT sector or role to pursue to get rewarded well for your efforts, the list of best paid analyst roles below may help, based on 2019 stats in an ascending order using HKD per annum:

1) Product specialist (Murex, Calypso etc.) = 320K

2) Software engineer = 387K

3) Network engineer = 450K

4) Business analyst = 467K

5) IT risk/compliance = 480K

6) Big data architect = 480K

7) Cyber and Information security = 510K

8) Solution architect = 510K

9) Developer (Java, C++, .NET) = 520K

10) Project management analyst = 560K

11) Data analytics = 600K

12) Cloud engineer = 750K

The tech industry evolves rapidly with new skills constantly emerging while others become obsolete. To be successful in your chosen IT role, you must be receptive to ongoing learning throughout your career.