The roll out of 5G, and new age technologies like Metaverse will be a boon for tech talent in India, as demand for networking engineers, user experience designers and testers, cloud computing experts, data scientists and cyber security specialists is expected to hit a new record with 25-30% rise expected in 2023.
These sought-after roles are also commanding better pay packages with almost 10-12% raise expected compared to traditional tech roles. According to NLB Services, a talent solutions company, at present, the salary for an artificial intelligence (AI) professional having two to four years of experience ranges between Rs 5-20 lakh per annum, while professionals with up to eight years of experience in AI can earn around Rs 35 and Rs 50 lakh per annum and those with over 10 years of experience can earn over Rs 1 crore per annum.
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Moreover, UI/UX designers have an average salary of Rs 5.5 lakhs per annum. For cloud specialists, Rs 15 lakh per annum is the average annual salary. Cybersecurity specialists currently have an average salary of Rs 10.5 lakh per annum.
While monetisation of 5G from retail consumers will take some more time, telcos are expected to recoup some of its investments by integrating their 5G solutions for enterprises, which will result in more hiring. Also, industries like manufacturing, healthcare, automobiles are expected to see some advancements related to 5G use leading to higher number of jobs in those industries too.
The demand for niche skills was up 15-20% in 2022 on a year-on-year basis as hiring continued to pick up steam for technology talent in telecom and allied sectors, as also healthcare, retail, manufacturing, and auto.
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“We are seeing a higher demand for candidates with 4-8 years of experience. There are a lot of emerging opportunities in video content, network upgradation & migration, private 5G for enterprises, IoT/IIoT, mobility, network infrastructure and network security. Specific profiles like technical content writers, networking engineers, AI & ML professionals, user experience designers, cloud computing experts, cybersecurity specialists, and data science and data analytics experts are in demand, and will remain relevant in the next few years,” said Sachin Alug, CEO, NLB Services.
While Metaverse still has a long way to go before it is fully ready for mass consumption, early adopters with technology giants, global retail and consumer goods companies, gaming companies, and tech startups are predominantly hiring designers, backend developers, AR (augmented reality) VR (virtual reality) engineers, marketers, and programmers.
“In the longer-term new roles that do not currently exist will open up like Metaverse construct architects, ecosystem developers, etc. and even currently unconsidered Metaverse jobs will become viable career paths,” said AR Ramesh, director (managed services and professional staffing), Adecco India. Ramesh said that currently talent specialising in Metaverse roles earn between Rs 4.5-8 lakhs per annum with one to four years of experience. However, the salaries are expected to increase by as high as 40% in the next few years.
