How much should Java Developers earn?
Java Developer salaries broken down by experience, seniority, framework, and position salary listings. Taken from the Insights Library on cord.
The average Java Developer salary is £70,634, based on expected salaries of 2,057 Java Developers looking for UK-based work on cord in 2021. The average salary range of Mid-Senior level Java Developer positions in the UK is £48,021–85,238. These insights break down the details of the salary expectations of Java Developers by years of experience, seniority, and chosen frameworks, as well as the salaries listed on Java Developer positions at different seniority levels.
Between 0–9 years’ experience, Java Developer salaries increase on average £5,279 per year, from £35,542 to £83,056. From 10–11 years’ experience, Java Developer salaries don’t tend to increase with more experience (suggesting length of experience is no longer an important factor in determining salary level), and Java Developer salaries tend to cap out at around £87,500.
On average, UK-based Java Developers expect the following salaries:
- Entry-level: £34,599
- Junior: £41,959
- Mid: £58,761
- Senior: £82,864
- Lead: £92,090
Java Developer salaries by framework and seniority
Spring salaries
Spring is the most popular framework among Java Developers, with 431 Engineers using the framework on cord in the last 12 months.
Despite the framework’s popularity, Spring Developers have lower salary expectations than the average Java Developer at all seniority levels.
Spring Boot salaries
355 Engineers listed Spring Boot as a skill on cord in the last 12 months. Unlike Spring Developers, Spring Boot Developers appear to earn more than the average Java Developer at Junior and Mid level.
However, at Senior and Lead level, Spring Boot Developers expect to earn less than the average Java Developer.
Hibernate salaries
132 Engineers listed Hibernate as a skill in the past 12 months.
As with Spring, Hibernate Developers expect lower salaries at all seniority levels, though this gap narrows significantly at Lead level.
Salary ranges of Java positions
Positions on cord are posted with a minimum salary level and a maximum salary level. The graph below shows the average values of these ranges, as well as the average mid-point. Average ranges are large for several reasons, including that definitions of seniorities vary across companies, and that positions can be posted with multiple seniorities (but only one salary range).
Among 326 UK-based Java Developer positions, the average mid point of salaries listed were as follows:
- Entry-level: £37,500
- Junior: £45,500
- Mid: £60,260
- Senior: £70,595
- Lead: £74,020
Based on the expectations data above, Java Developers at Entry-Mid level tend to expect salaries in line with the mid-range of job offerings, whereas Senior and Lead Java Developers expect salaries at the upper end of what companies are willing to offer them.
Key Insights
- The average Java Developer salary is £70,634
- Java Developer salaries increase at an average of £5,279 per year of experience from £35,542 to £83,056 over their first nine years in work. Years of experience stops being a key determinant of Java Developer salaries after 10–11 years
- Spring is the most popular Java framework, despite its users having lower salary expectations than the average Java Developer
Data Disclaimer
Salary expectation data refers to 2,057 UK-based Back End or Full Stack Engineers listing Java as a Primary Skill, looking for UK-based (On-site or Hybrid) work on cord between January — December 2021.
Position salary data refers to 576 UK-based Back End or Full Stack Developer positions posted on cord between January — December 2021 listing Java as a required skill.
While data encompasses the whole of the UK, the majority of UK-based roles on cord are based in London, which makes the data more relevant to people considering work in London. Further information on regional salaries will be available soon.
