2024 UK Salary Guide & Market Report
01 March, 2024
Summary
Our 2024 UK Salary Guide and Market Report provides the latest salaries and market commentary for the following specialisms within the telecommunications recruitment market.
This guide provides salary information for the following areas: Wireless Network Infrastructure; Open RAN & Disaggregated Networks; Cloud, Edge &, Network Virtualization; Transport, Optical & IP Networks; Wireless Network Design, Testing & Optimisation; and Technology Sales & Professional Services. The salaries within this report are displayed as annual earnings in GBP and are based on data collected from speaking with our candidates and clients, as well as market sentiment. If you would like a PDF version of this report, download it by completing the form above.
Contents
- Wireless Network Infrastructure
- Open RAN & Disaggregated Networks
- Cloud, Edge & Network Virtualization
- Transport, Optical & IP Networks
- Wireless Network Design, Testing & Optimisation
- Technology Sales & Professional Services
What are the salaries within wireless network infrastructure?
Like other sectors, the Wireless Network Infrastructure sector in the UK experienced a challenging 2023, following increased hiring post-covid hiring in latter 2021, and 2022. We noticed a reduction in new vacancies across both our permanent and contract divisions year on year, with projects feeling the pinch of inflation and higher interest rates.
Promisingly, we saw an increase in business levels during Q4 2023 - no doubt this was a result of confidence returning to the market with the easing of inflationary pressures – and projects are carrying momentum into 2024 with promising signs of a busy year ahead. There continues to be healthy competition in the UK operator market as they all aggressively compete to provide customers with increased download speeds, and also to be able to call themselves “the best 5G provider in the UK”. Latest assessments are that 77% of the UK population now has access to a 5G signal, up from 68% the previous year. The UK Government continue to pursue the ambition to push 5G coverage across the entire UK by 2030. 4G is still expected to be in high demand, but the aim to deliver standalone 5G connectivity that is not reliant on 4G requires a significant upgrade of current infrastructure. We continue to see a strong demand for roles which require customer management skills; such as Technical Project Manager, Roll-out Implementation Manager, and Solution Architect, we expect this demand to increase in 2024.
Average Annual Salary (GBP)
Job Title | 2-4 Years | 5-9 Years | 10+ Years |
Network Integration Engineer | £26,000-30,000 | £30,000 - 45,000 | £45,000 - 62,000 |
Network Support Engineer | £26,000-30,000 | £30,000 - 45,000 | £45,000 - 62,000 |
Network Testing Engineer | £26,000-30,000 | £30,000 - 45,000 | £45,000 - 62,000 |
Field Deployment Engineer | £18,000-23,000 | £23,000 - 35,000 | £35,000 - 57,500 |
RAN Deployment Implementation Manager | £25,000-35,000 | £35,000 - 45,000 | £45,000 - 57,000 |
Customer Project Manager | £25,000-35,000 | £35,000 - 45,000 | £45,000 - 57,000 |
Technical Project Manager | N/A | £50,000 - 60,000 | £60,000 - 85,000 |
OPEN RAN & DISAGGREGATED NETWORKS
Across the globe, 2023 was a challenging year for Open RAN vendors and the UK market was no different. Despite this, research firm Dell’Oro predicts that Open RAN will comprise 15-20% of Global RAN by 2027. Open RAN presently comprises single digit percentage of the market.
Compared to the rest of the world, European operators continue to be optimistic with Open RAN targets, but this is not being backed up with delivery just yet due to a cautious approach to physically deploying Open RAN. Instead, there continues to be a focus on building out 5G using traditional RAN. The baseline forecast, which assumes more delays in Europe, is for the European Open RAN market to surpass $1B (USD) by 2027 and eventually become one of the leading Open RAN/RAN markets. The UK Government still have ambitions to boost deployments so that 35% of the UK’s mobile network traffic is carried over Open RAN by 2030. The UK’s Diversification Strategy was backed by a £250 million investment into Open RAN and R&D, which will continue to run until 2025.
We still see a strong demand in recruitment for PHY Layer Engineers, Pre-Sales Engineers/Managers, and Technical Project Managers. The demand for Open RAN talent remains strong with there continuing to be a shortage of skilled resources in the UK labour market. We have assisted many companies in resolving this challenge through the UK government skilled worker VISA programme by bringing in talent from overseas.
Average Annual Salary (GBP)
Job Title | 2-4 Years | 5-9 Years | 10+ Years |
5G RAN Solution Architect£ | N/A | £65,000 - 80,000 | £80,000 - 95,000 |
O-RAN RF Design & Optimisation Engineer | £40,000 - 55,000 | £55,000 - 75,000 | £75,000 - 85,000 |
5G PHY Software Engineer | £50,000 - 65,000 | £55,000 - 70,000 | £60,000 - 85,000 |
4G SW Stack Engineer | £50,000 - 65,000 | £55,000 - 70,000 | £60,000 - 85,000 |
Senior Systems Engineer – Network Optimisation Algorithms | £40,000 - 55,000 | £55,000 - 75,000 | £75,000 - 85,000 |
3GPP RAN WG Standardisation Expert | £50,000 - 65,000 | £65,000 - 80,000 | £80,000 - 95,000 |
Manager PHY Software | N/A | £65,000 - 80,000 | £80,000 - 100,000 |
CLOUD, EDGE & NETWORK VIRTUALIZATION
We saw the Cloud and Network Virtualization sector hold firm in 2023 as Cloud Core projects continued. The demand for NFV/VNF design engineers with customer liaison experience continues to be very high as projects progress within the UK and parts of Northern Europe. Southern Europe also commenced project roll-outs in 2023, and several projects are gearing up for commencement in 2024.
With more projects ongoing the need for wider talent in this area has also increased. We continue to see a high rate of remote working adoption in this sector with companies realising the need for access to the services of highly specialised candidates who are based in all corners of the world. Embracing remote working has offered access to better talent and with reduced costs. We have seen a high demand for the following roles: Technical Project Managers, NFVi Designers/Solution Architects, Network Test and Integration Engineers.
Average Annual Salary (GBP)
Job Title | 2-4 Years | 5-9 Years | 10+ Years |
Cloud Platform Architect | £30,000-40,000 | £40,000-65,000 | £65,000-90,000 |
Cloud Network Deployment Project Manager | N/A | £55,000-70,000 | £70,000-110,000 |
NFV/VNF Architect | £30,000-40,000 | £40,000-65,000 | £65,000-90,000 |
NFV/VNF Solution Deployment Engineer | £30,000-40,000 | £40,000-65,000 | £65,000-90,000 |
TRANSPORT, OPTICAL & IP NETWORKS
2023 was a challenging year for this market with a crowded Altnet market either consolidating, or seeking mergers or additional funding. However, there is cause to be optimistic as the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of fast, reliable and accessible broadband connections for homes and businesses. Whereas 2023 saw an acceleration in the return to differing office working patterns, the main pandemic legacy on the UK working market has undoubtedly been the increase of both employees wanting some flexibility in their working lives, but also that companies are more prepared to accommodate it, and also actively seek to hire people who are located further away from their office location. This gives businesses access to a wider talent pool across the UK and also saves on office costs. Underpinning this titanic shift in policy is the availability of fast and reliable broadband.
We have seen a strong demand for Fibre Engineers (IP, Design Engineers, Support Engineers, Deployment Engineers and Field Engineers) and Deployment Project Managers which will continue in 2024. Our clients are also looking to engage Sales and Pre-Sales professionals.
Average Annual Salary (GBP)
Job Title | 2-4 Years | 5-9 Years | 10+ Years |
Fibre Planning Engineer | £22,000-28,000 | £28,000-38,000 | £38,000-50,000 |
Transmission Planning Engineer | £25,000-30,000 | £30,000-40,000 | £40,000-55,000 |
Fibre Network Deployment Manager | N/A | £35,000-55,000 | £55,000-70,000 |
Project Coordinator | £22,000-27,000 | £27,000-33,000 | £33,000-40,000 |
IP Network Design Engineer | £28,000-35,000 | £35,000-45,000 | £45,000-60,000 |
Circuit Provisioning Engineer | £25,000-30,000 | £30,000-40,000 | £40,000-55,000 |
Fixed Access Support Engineer | £25,000-30,000 | £30,000-43,000 | £43,000-58,000 |
WIRELESS NETWORK DESIGN, TESTING & OPTIMISATION
Network Performance/Optimisation activities have been centralised into support hubs in recent years with the majority of these services being performed remotely. We continue to see demand for design and testing engineers in the UK as there is heavy emphasis on these roles including some on site work be it liaising with customers or attending customer facilities to help execute their tasks to greatest effect
Average Annual Salary (GBP)
Job Title | 2-4 Years | 5-9 Years | 10+ Years |
RAN Network Design Engineer | £28,000-35,000 | £35,000-55,000 | £55,000-80,000 |
RAM Performance/Optimisation Engineer | £25,000-33,000 | £35,000-50,000 | £50,000-72,000 |
RAN Testing Engineer | £25,000-33,000 | £35,000-50,000 | £50,000-72,000 |
RAN Performance Manager | N/A | £50,000-65,000 | £65,000-95,000 |
Network Test Manager | N/A | £50,000-65,000 | £65,000-95,000 |
Core Network Design Engineer | £28,000-35,000 | £35,000-55,000 | £55,000-80,000 |
Core Network Testing Engineer | £25,000-33,000 | £35,000-50,000 | £50,000-72,000 |
Core Network Support Engineer | £25,000-33,000 | £35,000-50,000 | £50,000-72,000 |
Network Automation Engineer | £40,000-50,000 | £50,000-55,000 | £57,000-75,000 |
Network Reliability Engineer Professional | £40,000-50,000 | £50,000-55,000 | £57,000-75,000 |
Release Management Specialist | £40,000-62,000 | £62,000-68,000 | £68,000-75,000 |
TECHNOLOGY SALES & PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
With healthy competition in the UK market between vendors and consulting companies for both wireless and fixed network deployments, it is more important than ever for companies to build and maintain high performing teams to drive their sales and achieve their growth targets.
We have seen an even split in candidates preference between moving to established blue chip organisations who hold major client accounts, and small-to-medium organisations where candidates can see a tangible outcome on their contributions, operate more swiftly in a more agile decision-making environment, and in some cases have potential to earn more.
As with other sectors the large majority of sales workers tend to be based remotely, with many companies restructuring their sales teams to maximise the benefits of technologies like Zoom and Teams to reach international clients, which contributes to a reduction in travel costs. That said, companies still expect their sales people to attend regular in-person customers meetings to maintain those crucial customer relationships.
As the developments of new technologies continue to emerge at a faster rate than ever before, there is always a demand for people that can present and sell their products or services to new and existing clients. We have seen a demand for Business Development Managers, Pre-Sales Engineers and Account Managers. Recent statistics conclude that there is a current growth rate for Business Development Managers by +7.5%, assumedly leading to over 37,000 new jobs by 2027.
Average Annual Salary (GBP)
Job Title | 2-4 Years | 5-9 Years | 10+ Years |
Business Development Manager | £50,000 - 70,000 | £70,000-130,000 | £130,000-200,000 |
Sales Account Manager | £50,000 - 70,000 | £70,000-130,000 | £130,000-180,000 |
Pre-Sales Manager | N/A | £70,000 - 90,000 | £90,000-140,000 |
Technical Sales Engineer | £30,000 - 50,000 | £50,000 - 70,000 | £70,000-90,000 |
Regional Sales Director | N/A | £90,000 - 135,000 | £135,000-220,000 |