By Business & Finance 
Irish recruitment firm Brightwater Recruitment published its 2018 salary survey, which gives information on salary expectations for 2018 based on 3,500 respondents consisting of employees and job seekers across 14 sectors.
The survey shows that aviation leasing is now asking for the highest base salaries, expecting to start at €270,000 and peaking at around €600,000 in 2018.
The insurance sector will see CEOs’ base salaries coming in at €180,000 and peaking at €420,000. In industry and commerce base salaries will range from €160,000 to €350,000 next year, which is a 12% to 16% increase.
Pay packets for research and development directors will also see growth, with base salaries up to €180,000 in 2018. This is a 50% increase on the highest point of last year.
Chief technology officers (CTO) are also seeing a rise with salaries going from €120,000 to €200,000 next year, an increase of 25% on 2016 figures.
In the legal industry, someone in the Junior Legal Counsel position in the capital will see a salary increase of almost 7% on last year’s figure, going to a range of between €55,000 and €80,000.
IT security will see a 9% increase in 2018, ranging from €35,000 to €60,000.
A customer services team leader will peak at €45,000 compared to €5,000 less in 2016.
Salaries will be lower in almost every area outside of Dublin. A quality engineer in the capital will get a salary between €55,000 and €75,000. Someone outside of Dublin will see a range of €45,000 to €55,000 on their salary (19% to 27% less).
Science and pharmaceuticals will see a QC analyst in the capital with a salary of €60,000 whereas outside of Dublin will see you bag €40,000 for the same title and role (33% less).
A sales manager will get €90,000 in Dublin and €70,000 outside of Dublin.
Barbara McGrath, Managing Director of Brightwater Recruitment, spoke of the findings: “While base salary is clearly important the trend has definitely shifted to the total reward package which covers salary, discretionary bonus, benefits, work-life balance and career development. Brightwater’s research highlights the growing significance of improved bonus structures across most sectors; re-emergence and popularity of LTIPs (long-term incentive bonus plans), which typically are applicable for senior leadership; key employees on top of bonuses, highlight the importance of staff retention initiatives as the market picks up; and the high importance of flexible or remote working arrangements.
“Recruitment is a bellwether for the wider economy and the 20 new roles we are creating in Brightwater are based on a combination of organic growth in our business as well as an increasing demand in the sector as a whole. While a ‘Brexit bounce’ has not yet fully materialised, job creation in financial services is expected to rise next year. Our research indicates that as high as 50% of firms in the sector expect to grow due to a European base relocation to Ireland or expansion of existing presence in Ireland. This growth, though, also includes the creation of new positions relating specifically to data protection in line with GDPR implementation in May 2018.”
Brightwater has also announced 35 new roles across a range of levels in the business, which showcases the growth in varying industries across the country. The company expects to have 20 of these filled by the first quarter of 2018.
Brightwater employs 95 people at offices in Dublin, Cork and Belfast, and will use the incoming staff to locate the most suitable candidates for businesses across a wide range of sectors. Candidates are being sought from a range of backgrounds, including engineering, science, construction, finance, IT and more.
