Why would a developer travel to Europe? Not because of money - we have repeatedly noticed in articles about moving, and you are in the comments to them.
You can go for interesting tasks in large tech companies and new challenges in startups, for the cultural life / history of the country you admire. For mobility - to drive with your family to the farthest corners of the EU on weekends.
If you are interested in relocation - until the borders are opened, you can get ready, consider different directions for moving. Disclaimer: we provide average figures, real wages and costs differ in different regions of the country. Share your experience in the comments - we will only be happy to make adjustments!
So what's next for an engineer in the UK?
Why Great Britain?
IT prospects in general
Between 2018 and 2019, 672,890 new companies were registered in the UK, an 8.5% increase over the previous year. Growth continued in 2020 - although it has slowed down.
Source The
IT industry in London is growing rapidly. For example, Startup Genome and the Global Entrepreneurship Network have released a report on global startup ecosystems. They were assessed in terms of Performance, Funding, Connectedness, Market Reach, Knowledge, Talent, and, according to the report, London's ecosystem caught up with New York, moving from 8th to 2nd place in eight years. Such factors as the attraction of capital and investments, the attractiveness of the city for talented specialists "helped" him in this.
According to FDI Intelligence and TNW Tech, whichranked the "technological cities of the future" , London ranks first in the overall top. It outperformed other European cities in four out of five categories: FDI, Economic Potential, Startup-friendly Environment, Innovation, and City Attractiveness. So, for example, over 16 years (from 2003 to 2019), more than 5,000 patents in the field of software have been registered, more than 100 in the field of AI, 5 of the top 500 world universities in the field of electric and electronic engineering are located in the capital.
Not only London is included in the overall rating of the 25 "cities of the future". Irish Dublin - in third place, in terms of "economic potential" and "the amount of foreign direct investment" is immediately behind the English capital. In addition to him, the overall top includes Belfast, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Reading and Glasgow.
Ten years ago, as part of a strategy to improve and expand the country's technological capabilities, Cameron launched Tech Nation, an organization that supports and promotes tech clusters across the UK, not just London. The government is now reporting 30 significant clusters , and it is noted that 45% of the scaleups are located outside London.
The UK as a whole is in the lead according to Tech Nation's 2020 reportin Europe for the development of the tech industry.
Besides:
- Manchester, London, Bristol, Oxford and Cambridge are among the top 20 cities in Europe for IT investments.
- The fastest growing technology cluster in Europe is Manchester . Investments increased by 277% from £ 48 million in 2018 to £ 181 million in 2019.
- The number of unicorn companies in the UK is growing :
- The number of vacancies is growing :
- 40% , 9% . IT 3 . 438 000 .
How has the demand for different IT professionals in different regions of the UK been changing recently? We provide information based on data from the same Tech Nation .
Compared to 2015-2017, the positions of Data Scientist, Data Engineer, Analyst and Full-stack Engineer are very popular. From 2015 to 2018, the demand for Full-stack Developers more than tripled: from 4,910 to 16,753
. Clusters across the country are in demand for Software Developer - in 2018 there were more than 130,000 vacancies, then they accounted for 6% of all tech positions. Demand for Web Developer and C # Developer decreased, and for Devops Engineer it doubled by 2018 (9818 → 23 690).
In 2019, Software Developer was still the most promoted position on job boards by employers. Requirements for the skills that appeared in job descriptions (most common keywords):
- Engineering
- .net
- Javascript
- Java
- C ++
- Data
- SQL
- Python
- Amazon Web Service
- Client
And what about the money?
According to a 2020 Tech Nation report, the median IT salary increased 4% in 2019. London, Cambridge and Reading offer the highest salaries for Software Developers, while Cardiff, Sheffield and Newcastle offer the lowest. Bristol saw the highest revenue growth among tech professionals in 2019, from £ 35,520 to £ 40,000. London is the most attractive city in terms of the average salary of all IT professionals: £ 55,000.
However, the authors note, while Belfast's salaries are lower, the city is in third place in terms of the cost of living to the proposed salary. That is, the cost of living here is the lowest compared to other clusters, and in London it is the highest. While it is more profitable for a developer to earn 37,500 pounds in Belfast than 45,000 pounds in Bristol.
A detailed comparison of engineers' salaries was posted recently by @avecoder .
Impact of the pandemic
How has COVID-19 affected IT employment? From June to August this year, the number of vacancies in IT increased by 36% , and in terms of the number of promoted positions it is second only to healthcare. Dealroom included a clause on the impact of the pandemic on the tech industry in its 2020 report . Only 10% of startups were negatively affected by covid, 66% were exposed to short-term (V-shaped) influence, and 24% - rather positive, in the areas of digital health, E-grocery / food delivery, gaming, dating.
What you need to know before moving
Tier 2 work visa
You can work in the UK with several types of work visas . Some of them concern specific types of employment (in health care or religious organizations). There are two work visas in the usual sense. First: Intra-company Transfer visa - transfer within a company to a British branch. This is a nonimmigrant visa: years of work do not count towards obtaining a residence permit, plus you are tied to an employer and cannot change it. Second: General work visa - immigration, there is also a link to the employer, but you can change it.
To apply for a work visa, you will need an offer from a local company. There is a list of licensed sponsors - companies that can recruit and sponsor foreigners.
With such a visa, you can work for a sponsoring company, engage in volunteer work, under certain circumstances - get a second job, study - if this does not interfere with your main job, travel and return back to the UK, and bring your family members with you . A visa is issued for 5 years and 14 days or for the period specified in the certificate of sponsorship + 1 month - whichever is shorter. After 5 years, you can get a residence permit (Indefinite Leave to Remain).
To get a visa, you need:
- receive a sponsorship certificate - this is an electronic document with your personal data and information about the proposed job, a guarantee from the employer. When changing a company, you need to obtain a new permit;
- , , : — 30 000£ « ». , Systems Analyst (29 100£ 35 800£ ) Software Engineer (25 000£ 32 600£ );
- 90 — 945£, «»;
- , — 4–5 9 IELTS;
- .
In addition to the usual processing fees , you will need to pay for medical care . The government offers a special calculator for calculating the contribution .
To transport family members - spouse and children - each will need to confirm that there is money for their maintenance: £ 630 on the account 90 days before the application is submitted. Confirmation is not required if the sponsor is rated “A” and is willing to cover these costs - as indicated on the certificate.
Registration usually takes 3 months, expats advise to mortgage 3-4 months, but unforeseen circumstances may extend this period .
Money, taxes
According to the ONS (Office for National Statistics) report, the average income of a Briton in 2019 grew by 2.9% and amounted to £ 30,420 per year. Of course, these numbers differ in different regions, for people of different ages and sexes, with different types of employment. In 2020, according to HIRED , there is a growth trend in wages - including in the field of Software Engineering. So what about the developers?
According to Glassdoor, Software Engineer in London on average earns 52,408 pounds a year , in Edinburgh - 35 552 £ , in Manchester - 36 408 £ . As we noted above, income is very different in different regions, but taxes also differ.
The taxpayer is entitled to a Personal Allowance, a tax exempt amount. That's 12,500 pounds.
Income tax rates in Scotland differ from other regions . Tax classes:
- 19% personal income tax on income from £ 12,501 to £ 14,585,
- 20% personal income tax on income from £ 14,586 to £ 25,158,
- 21% personal income tax on income from £ 25,159 to £ 43,430,
- 41% personal income tax on income from £ 43,431 to £ 150,000,
- and 46% tax on income over £ 150,000.
In other regions, there are fewer classes:
- 20% personal income tax on income from £ 12,501 to £ 50,000,
- 40% personal income tax on income from £ 50,001 to £ 150,000,
- 45% - for income over £ 150,000.
Of course, there are tax breaks , benefits marrying (Marriage Allowance). If income is above £ 100,000, then the personal income tax rebate is reduced. For every £ 2 over £ 100,000, the discount is reduced by £ 1, and at £ 125,000, the discount is zero. You can calculate your income including personal income tax here or here .
Municipal tax - council tax - is paid on housing, own or rented, and its size depends on the location of the property. There is a tax on transport, it is calculated for each car separately, for example, on such a calculator .
Before paying taxes, you need to obtain a NIN - National Insurance Number, you can get it by phone - and determine your tax residency . The system is tricky, some firms publish translated tests for determining residency , the original is on the state website .
To summarize , it turns out like this. You are a resident if:
- live in the UK for 183 days minimum,
- you live in your property for at least 91 in a row,
- you work 356 days without significant interruptions.
Residents pay tax on both UK and overseas income. An exception is income from a domicile - this is a legally significant place of residence. If you are moving from Russia, your domicile is Russia.
the cost of living
According to Mercer , London has climbed four places in the cost of living ranking in terms of cost of living (19th place). Much cheaper than Birmingham (129), Aberdeen (134), Glasgow (141), Belfast (149). Moscow ranks 21st. According to the same Mercer, the quality of life in all these cities is higher than in Moscow.
Rent
According to expats, housing is expensive - more expensive than Moscow, and its quality is lower: sound and thermal insulation is worse than in Russian houses, mostly old - you will have to try to find something worthwhile.
Most often they are searched through agencies or on sites like Zoopla or Rightmove.... Renting a one-bedroom apartment in London on the outskirts will cost about £ 1,100 per month, prices in the center are rising. You can estimate the high cost of the London area on this map .
According to Numbeo , in Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, a one-bedroom apartment can be rented for £ 530-630 on the outskirts of the city and £ 760-820 in the center.
According to the reviews of compatriots who have moved to the UK, there is a certain scheme of how an apartment is rented. After the apartment is found, you need to contact the agent and go to the viewing. To avoid showing it to others, leave a deposit. All fees are strictly regulated, the size of the deposit cannot exceed the rental amount for 6 weeks. If you want to withdraw, make an offer in which you need to include all your wishes. It is important to indicate everything that you do not like at the very beginning, then nothing can be done with the contract.
Property prices are on the rise and hit a record last month with the average home price rising to £ 245,747, according to the Guardian . Of course, property prices vary from region to region .
Products
We collect a grocery basket in the popular Tesco supermarket chain : a liter of milk, a loaf of bread, a dozen eggs, 250 grams of gouda, a package of chicken breasts, a kilogram of apples and potatoes and a bottle of beer will cost £ 15.59.
According to Numbeo, such a basket in London we would collect for £ 22.55, in Birmingham for £ 21.38, in Edinburgh - £ 22.75, Manchester - £ 19.98.
Free time
The UK attracts tourists and immigrants for its cultural life, historical sites and the possibility of travel to a large number of scenic spots.
Talking about Britain will not work without mentioning music and music festivals - there are a huge number of them here: Isle of Wight , Parklife , the legendary Glastonbury , British Summer Time , Lovebox and many others in different regions of the country. By the way, some organizers have already published lineups for 2021. For example, the Download poster , which is dedicated to heavy music.
The government prohibits changing the appearance of houses and installing new window frames. Because of this, it can be cool indoors in winter, but the cities in the historic center each have their own unique atmosphere.
Here is Varlamov 's report from Edinburgh with photographs of stunning Edinburgh architecture. Scotland is generally popular among locals. Walk in National Parks , visit castles , drive to the Highland valleys - Glencoe and Glenmoor , see lakes, cities and towns.
You can fly anywhere on the continent, it is quite easy to do, there are two local low-cost airlines: easyJet and Ryanair .
With children, you can come, for example, to the studio where "Harry Potter" was filmed , or Legoland - both near London. There are cool and interesting museums. In London: natural history with a giant skeleton of a whale, the National Gallery - this will be interesting for someone older, admission is free.
What else should you try? The national cuisine of each region (how can it be without fish and chips!), Check out local pubs and bars, go to a couple of football matches, get to the sea, see rural villages, be surprised by accents - in general, there is something to do on the weekend.
What to read about moving
- UK Digital Talent Visa: Personal Experience (Habr)
- Pros and cons of IT life in Scotland (Habr)
- Scenic locations in Scotland (Instagram)
- Our series of articles about different directions for relocation engineers: Germany , the Netherlands , Budapest , Cyprus , Shanghai (Habr)
conclusions
Great Britain is an expensive country, with an overheated real estate market, without special programs to facilitate the migration of highly qualified specialists. But it claims to be the country with the most developed IT industry in Europe: a large number of startup ecosystems, the explosive growth of tech companies, an abundance of jobs and interesting tasks.
What would be more important for you in moving? Write in the comments.
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