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Compensation in the Halifax tech community 2023

The annual Halihax member survey asks members to report on their compensation, skills and how they are feeling in the community. We use this data to produce the compensation in the Halifax tech community report. This report is a review of our 2023 member survey data, where we take a look at both the current state and emerging trends we are seeing in the community.
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Table of contents

Highlights

Our community grew by 22% this past year, let's take a look at the numbers.

** denotes a statistic that is new for the 2023 reporting year

2811 (↑ 511)
Community Members
169 (↓ -30)
2023 survey respondents
54 (↓ -15)
First time respondents

Diversity & inclusion

We took a closer look at who our members are, and how we can represent them better.

11.8 % (↓ -1.2)
Identify as a visible minority
1.2 % ( - )
Identify as indigenous
8.3 % (↑ 0.3)
Identify as someone with a disability
Gender Identity

We asked respondents to choose the option they identify with in regards to gender.

Feeling of belonging

We asked respondents to rank how well they felt they belong in the Halihax community.

Job market

Our #jobs channel is used by employers and job seekers to showcase talent and opportunities that are available.

13.0 % (↓ -1.0)
Are actively seeking a new position
4.1 % (↓ -1.9)
Are seeking a new role within the next 6-12 months
25.4 % (↓ -1.6)
Posted a job listing to our #jobs channel last year
25.6 % (↑ 7.4)
Job posters attribute hiring their candidate through Halihax
6.5 % (↑ 0.5)
Respondents say were hired as a result of a job they found through Halihax

Salary & compensation insights

In this section we take a look at salary in comparison to other reported qualifications.

$131,000.00 (↑ $11,000.00)
Salary (median)
33.0 % (↑ 7.0)
Hold equity in the company that employs them
35.0 % ( - )
Were awarded options as part of compensation
87.0 % (↓ -1.0)
Receive health benefits
93.0 % ( - )
Paid in CAD
74.0 % (↑ 1.0)
Believe they receive fair compensation
Annual Raises

Percentages and reasons behind raises in 2023

69.0 % (↓ -2.0)
Report receiving a raise in the last year
7.1 % (↓ -4.9)
Median raise percentage
Employment parameters

There are a number of factors that play into what a person is compensated. Stage, size, and location of company are key factors in determining what your potential salary could be.

2.0 (↑ 0.5)
Years in current role
10.0 ( - )
Years of industry experience
32.0 % (↑ 4.0)
Are in a managerial role
Employer insights
Salary comparisons

We often see variance in salary based on experience, company characteristics, and region of employer headquarters.

Industry experience, median, of 10 years

Quality of life

We often look at salary above all when it comes to employment, but it's important to rationalize it against other quality of life metrics.

Weekly work hours, median, of 40 (no change from 2022)

Remote vs co-located

The nature of working in a technology field is that you're able to work from almost anywhere that you can be connected to the internet. Often employers will pay based on a centralized pay scale.

59.7 % (↓ 24.1)
Are working remote for Canadian employers
36.1 % (↑ 21.6)
Of those Canadian employers are Nova Scotia based

Programming & technologies

71.6% of respondents touch code daily, let's take a look at what languages and technologies they're using.

Salary by primary programming language
Salary by seniority

Through the years

Since 2018 we've ran this yearly member survey. Our goal for this data is to be able to demonstrate trends that can inform investment to support the professional development and growth of our community.

Check out results from previous years:

A comparison of median salary by programming language from 2018-2023

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Thank you!

We would like to thank all of the respondents to our 2023 survey, without you we would not be able to produce this resource for the community. If you know someone who may benefit from this data, please consider sharing it with them.

If you are not yet a member of our Slack community, please join us. Through Slack you will be able to stay up to date with discussion, upcoming events, and other news about the Halifax tech community.

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