Junior high-tech roles: 84% drop in front-end openings; salaries fall across the board

There has been a significant decrease in the number of open junior tech roles and starting salary, with an increased job search duration in the last year, according to data shared with CTech by Israeli recruitment firm Ethosia.

According to the data, collected from August 2022 to August 2023, the number of open junior positions in tech has decreased across the board by at least one third, and more often by at least half. Some of the most significant decreases in available roles have been for algorithm and verification engineers where open roles have decreased by 62% and 68% respectively.

The most notable decrease has been for front-end engineering roles which have decreased by 84%. A year ago, front-end engineer roles had the largest number of available positions at 580, but have now decreased to a shocking 92.

However, there is one role that has actually grown in the number of available positions: chemical engineer. Alone of all junior roles, the number of chemical engineering roles has actually increased by 28%, with the largest number of available roles at 410.

The starting salary for all junior roles has also all decreased. While they have also decreased in the last year, the highest salaries remain those of ASIC engineers and verification engineers at 22,000-28,000 NIS ($5,787-7,366). The lowest salary, which has also decreased, remains that of test automation engineers at 10,000-13,000 NIS ($2,630-3,419), followed by chemical engineers at 14,000-15,000 NIS ($3,683-3,946). The most significant change in salary is for front-end engineers which has decreased from 20,000-23,000 NIS ($5,200-6,000) to 17,000-21,000 NIS ($4,470-5,522).

Unsurprisingly, the job search duration has increased for all roles, and has at least doubled for most. The longest job search length is for chemical engineers which has more than doubled from 9 to 21 weeks. The length of time has tripled for data engineers from 4 to 12 weeks, and nearly tripled for back-end engineers and test automation engineers. The smallest change is for DevOps engineers from 5-6.5 weeks.

See below for a detailed breakdown of junior tech roles and how they have changed from August 2022-August 2023.

1. Front-end engineer

What: Front-end engineers are responsible for designing and implementing the user interface and user experience of a software application or website.

Number of open positions: The number of open positions has decreased from 580 to 92 by a staggering 84%.

Salary: The salary has significantly decreased from 20,000-23,000 NIS ($5,200-6,000) to 17,000-21,000 NIS ($4,470-5,522).

Job search duration: The job search duration has more than doubled from 5.5 to 12 weeks.

2. Back-end engineer

What: Back-end engineers focus on developing and maintaining the server-side logic, databases, and infrastructure that power software applications.

Number of open positions: The number of open positions has decreased by more than half from 292 to 141.

Salary: The salary has dropped significantly from 22,000-25,000 NIS ($5,792-6,582) to 19,000-21,000 NIS ($5,002-5,530).

Job search duration: The job search length has also nearly tripled from 3 to 8 weeks.

3. Real-time embedded engineer

What: Real-time embedded engineers specialize in designing, developing, and optimizing software and systems that control and interact with physical devices in real-time.

Number of open positions: The number of roles has decreased by more than half from 382 to 176.

Salary: The salary has decreased from 20,000-26,000 NIS ($5,267-6,847) to 18,000-23,000 NIS ($4,740-6,056).

Job search duration: The job search duration has doubled from 4.5 to 9 weeks.

4. DevOps engineer

What: DevOps engineers combine development and operations practices to facilitate the continuous integration, deployment, and management of software applications and systems.

Number of open positions: The number of roles has decreased by about a third from 510 to 340.

Salary: The salary has significantly decreased from 22,000-25,000 NIS ($5,792-6,582) to 18,000-20,000 NIS ($4,740-5,267).

Job search duration: The job search duration has increased less significantly from 5 to 6.5 weeks.

5. Hardware board design engineer

What: Hardware board design engineers create and design the physical circuit boards that contain electronic components for devices or systems.

Number of open positions: The number of open roles has decreased by more than half from 150 to 70.

Salary: Salary has only slightly decreased from 19,000-24,000 NIS ($5,002-6,319) to 18,000-23,000 NIS ($4,740-6,056).

Job search duration: The job search duration has doubled from 6.5 to 13 weeks.

6. ASIC hardware engineer

What: ASIC hardware engineers work on the design and development of Application-Specific Integrated Circuits, which are custom-designed integrated circuits for specific tasks.

Number of open positions: The number of open roles has decreased by more than half from 310 to 140.

Salary: The salary has decreased from 24,000-29,000 NIS ($6,319-7,637) to 22,000-28,000 NIS ($5,792-7373). However, it still remains the highest salary along with verification engineers.

Job search duration: The job search duration has nearly doubled from 5 to 9 weeks.

7. RF engineer

What: RF (radio frequency) engineers focus on designing, optimizing, and maintaining wireless communication systems and components that operate in the radio frequency spectrum.

Number of open positions: The number of open roles has decreased by nearly 50% from 102 to 58.

Salary: The salary has decreased from 20,000-24,000 NIS ($5,267-6,319) to 18,000-23,000 NIS ($4,740-6,056).

Job search duration: The job search duration has ballooned from 5.5 to 14 weeks.

8. Verification engineer

What: Verification engineers ensure the effectiveness and functionality of hardware or software products through testing, simulations, and analysis.

Number of open positions: The number of open roles has significantly decreased by more than two thirds from 260 to 82.

Salary: The salary has decreased from 24,000-29,000 NIS ($6,319-7,637) to 22,000-28,000 NIS ($5,792-7373). However, it still remains the highest salary along with ASIC engineers.

Job search duration: The job search duration has only slightly increased from 5 to 7 weeks.

9. Mechanical engineer

What: Mechanical engineers design, analyze, and develop mechanical systems and devices, considering factors like materials, physics, and manufacturing processes.

Number of open positions: The number of open roles has decreased by nearly half from 132 to 68.

Salary: The salary has only slightly decreased from 16,000-19,000 NIS ($4,213-5,003) to 15,000-18,000 NIS ($3,949-4,739).

Job search duration: The job search duration has increased from 6.5 to 10 weeks.

10. Test automation engineer

What: Test automation engineers are software developers who design and write programs that run automated tests on new or existing software.

Number of open positions: The number of open roles has decreased by nearly half from 152 to 84.

Salary: The salary has decreased from 12,000-15,000 NIS ($3,159-3,949) to 10,000-13,000 NIS ($2,633-3,423) - the lowest salary reported.

Job search duration: The job search duration has nearly tripled from 5 to 13 weeks.

11. Data engineer

What: Data engineers are responsible for designing, maintaining, and optimizing data infrastructure for data collection, management, transformation, and access.

Number of open positions: The number of open roles has decreased by nearly 50% from 192 to 102.

Salary: The salary has decreased from 19,000-23,000 NIS ($5,002-6,056) to 17,000-18,000 NIS ($4,476-4,740).

Job search duration: The job search duration has tripled from 4 to 12 weeks.

12. Algorithm engineer

What: Algorithm engineers design and develop algorithms, which are step-by-step procedures for solving specific problems or performing tasks in software development and other fields.

Number of open positions: The number of open roles has decreased by nearly two thirds from 152 to 58.

Salary: The salary has decreased from 22,000-25,000 NIS ($5,792-6,581) to 21,000-23,000 NIS ($5,528-6,055).

Job search duration: The job search duration has more than doubled from 5 to 12 weeks.

13. Chemical engineer

What: Chemical engineers apply chemistry, physics, and engineering to design, develop, and optimize processes for the production of chemicals, materials, and energy.

Number of open positions: In an anomaly, the number of roles for chemical engineers alone has increased by 28% from 320 to 410.

Salary: The salary has decreased from 15,000-16,000 NIS ($3,949-4,212) to 14,000-15,000 NIS ($3,685-3,949) and is the lowest salary reported after that of test automation engineers.

Job search duration: The job search duration has ballooned from 9 to 21 weeks - the longest length of time reported.

14. Systems engineer

What: Systems engineers manage and coordinate complex projects, considering both the technical and organizational aspects to ensure all components work together seamlessly.

Number of open positions: The number of open roles has decreased by more than a third from 96 to 62.

Salary: The salary has decreased from 23,000-25,000 NIS ($6,055-6,581) to 20,000-23,000 NIS ($5,264-6,055).

Job search duration: The job search duration has doubled from 6 to 12 weeks.

15. Product manager

What: Product managers oversee the development and lifecycle of a product, from conception to launch and beyond, aligning business goals, user needs, and technical feasibility.

Number of open positions: The number of open roles has decreased by nearly half from 250 to 132.

Salary: The salary has significantly decreased from 23,000-25,000 NIS ($6,055-6,581) to 18,000-22,000 NIS ($4,740-5,790).

Job search duration: The job search duration has increased from 6.5 to 9 weeks.