How Are APAC Tech Salaries Faring in 2024?

The Asia Tech Salary Report from talent platform provider NodeFlair noted the “challenges the industry faced, including layoffs and hiring freezes,” in Asia during 2023. Using proprietary and external data from six countries in APAC, it found software engineer salaries decreased by an average of 0.99% during 2023, compared to an increase of 7.61% experienced in 2022.

Some software engineering disciplines fared worse than others. For instance, there was a 6.66% reduction in salaries for game engineer positions. Salaries for solutions engineers dropped by 5.7%, blockchain engineers by 5.4% and DevOps pros by 2%.

The news was not all bad; data science roles bucked the trend with 11.3% growth in salaries.

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NodeFlair, too, expects salaries to recover. “Salaries for tech employees, in general, are poised for recovery in 2024 as the economy rebounds. The growth rate may vary across different roles, with a strong emphasis on the increasing demand for AI and data science professionals.”

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NodeFlair’s report showed the salaries workers command across APAC depend on the market in which they reside. For instance, the median monthly base salary of a lead software engineer in Singapore is US $6,688, compared with US $1,937 in Vietnam.

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There are also differences in demand for different roles, with AI and data science expected to lead salary growth in 2024. “This sector-specific surge in demand may lead to competitive salary offers to attract and retain top talents in these specialised fields,” NodeFlair said.

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The global rise of AI is driving hiring in Asian markets. NodeFlair’s report found salaries for data scientists at all levels rose by 11.3% year-on-year in the Singapore market during 2023, even amidst moribund demand for tech roles as a whole. Just one example is that the salary for a middle percentile lead data scientist in Singapore has grown from S$12,500 per month (US$9,234) in 2022 to S$14,187 per month (US$10,480) in 2023, or 14%.

NodeFlair argued demand for skills in areas like machine learning, natural language processing and data analysis would be critical as businesses recognise the transformative potential of AI.

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NodeFlair found that salaries for cybersecurity engineering roles grew by 8.24% year-on-year in the Singapore market between 2022 and 2023.