The rising prevalence of cloud over on-prem technology for infrastructure has continued this year. AWS remains the most prominent option, however, Azure continues to grow in popularity. Other options such as Google Cloud Platform and IBM public cloud are used with less frequency yet offer alternatives to the two cloud powerhouses that dominate the market.
With many of the common cloud platforms based on Linux, Linux System Administrators remain in high demand. There also remains a fantastic pool of qualified Windows System Administrators in Ireland with salaries and day rates remaining relatively similar for both roles since our last IT salary survey in 2021.
There is a shift in the desired skillset for Linux System Administration not just on the cloud experience aspect but also in exposure to DevOps. It is a common progression path we are witnessing in the Dublin market at the moment with current DevOps Engineers often possessing a background in Linux System Administration. The trend in Linux System Engineers having exposure to CI/CD pipelines, IaC and tools such as Ansible, Kubernetes and so on, continues and proves to be a very attractive option for employers in Ireland. Engineers and Systems Administrators with this kind of relevant experience, of which there are plenty, remain the most desirable on the market for all companies looking to implement or build DevOps teams.
As companies continue to subscribe to automation principles, there is a growing desire amongst employers – particularly large Multinational Corporations for their Windows or Linux Engineers to have experience with Python, PowerShell, Shell Scripting or similar. As companies continue to automate that which can be automated, this trend is set to continue into 2022.
System Engineer candidate motivations remain the same with many focused on flexible working arrangements and exciting project-focused career opportunities. The opportunity to upgrade, build and design new IT infrastructure remains the top of many candidates’ motivations to join a new company. As seen during the first half of 2021, infrastructure continues to support remote working with a move to hybrid working the most favoured approach by many employers moving into 2022. For many candidates, the days of working in the office full time appear to be not as attractive because candidates in this area at present seem to be more interested in flexible working conditions.