What’s happening tech intern and graduate remuneration in Aotearoa, New Zealand as we head into 2024?

NZ Tech industry-wide trends

• 71% of NZ Tech employers plan to give employees a pay rise this year.

• 48% of NZ Tech employers are planning to increase permanent staff this year

• Top career priorities for Tech employees this year:

  • Learning or developing technical skills

  • A pay rise

  • Being able to work flexibly

Source: Hays Salary Guide 2023

In 2023, the Living Wage increased to $26/hr and we saw a corresponding rise in intern and graduate wages. Our recommended minimum is the NZ Living Wage, and we are pleased to see ALL employers offering $26/hr or above in our 2023 programme.

Summer of Tech 2023 remuneration

Overall Average $28.67
Overall Range $26-$36.54

Graduate Average $31.61
Graduate Range $26-$36.54

Intern Average $27.72
Intern Range $26-$35

(Note: this is based on 232 roles advertised and filled between 1 January - 31 December 2023)

Our 2023 wages were a 4.4% increase on our 2022 wages (in contrast, Living Wage increased 9.9% vs 2022).

Graduate Salary Trends

Some data from around Aotearoa:

Prosple’s 2023 report says $64,600 is the average for a bachelor-degree graduate across all industries, with Technology $61,824 (which is equivalent to $29.72/hr).

NZAGE’s survey, again across all industries, says NZ interns are getting paid an average of $48K-$50K (approx $23.56/hr) and graduates $60K-$65K ($30.04/hr).

(Note this data was shared at the NZAGE Summit in November 2023, but you can see their research key findings here)

Wages… vs other benefits?

Money is an important factor for candidates considering offers, more so for graduates who are committing to a longer term contract. However, it’s usually not the primary factor driving decisions. According to NZAGE (which is in line with our findings), the top 4 reasons to accept an offer include:

• Employer reputation (67%)

• Long-term career prospects (62%)

• Training and development (59%)

• Company culture (57%)

However, for graduates considering leaving, remuneration is the top reason, with 41% of NZAGE respondents saying it was the primary driver for looking around for another role.

Trans Tasman Trends

Australian wage trends should be of interest to every NZ tech employer, as there has been an increase in the number of trans-Tasman roles being advertised, promoted at Career Fairs, and filled by NZ candidates. Anecdotally, and through some media channels, we’ve heard stories of Graduate salaries well over NZ$100K. According to this report, the average graduate salary in Australia is AUD$75K (AUD$36.06/hr which is NZD$38.36/hr with today’s exchange rate). For Graduate Software Engineers, the average is reportedly AUD$91,975 (AUD$44.22/hr).