Welcome from our CMO
Kashif Naqshbandi, Chief Marketing Officer​
We caught up with Rob to find out what excites him about the Microsoft ecosystem, his thoughts on the community and how our report can help guide professionals and employers to make more informed decisions.
Executive Summary
Zoë Morris
President
Nigel Frank International
Zoë Morris
President
Nigel Frank International
Welcome to the 2024 edition of our Careers and Hiring Guide which, for the first time, combines insights and trends from the Microsoft 365, Business Applications, and Azure communities all in one place.
By bringing together all our findings into one easily accessible resource, we hope this will provide you with an all-encompassing snapshot into the global Microsoft Cloud ecosystem, whichever platform you specialize in and whatever your professional goals.
As always, we have aggregated our data from two primary sources: self-reported data from an online survey of Microsoft professionals, customers, and partners, and statistical analysis of vacancies and placements made by Nigel Frank. This information helps us to uncover the latest developments and sentiments across the Microsoft Cloud space, including the most up-to-date market movement of salaries.
We have lots of interesting findings to share with you this year, which will arm you with everything you need to know to secure your dream job, land a lucrative promotion or recruit high-performing IT specialists for your team.Â
So, let’s dive straight into some of our highlights!
Expand to read more from Zoë Morris
According to our survey, 78% of professionals believe that certifications make you a more valuable candidate, yet only 54% of respondents hold a Microsoft certification. Those who reported earning a salary increase post-certification received an average raise of 20%, proof that investing in a cert will most likely impact your future earnings for the better.
Among the permanent employees we surveyed, 87% told us that salary aside, workplace benefits are important when deciding whether or not they will accept a job offer. And specifically, a bonus and flexible working hours are considered the most desirable perks.
Honing in on Microsoft freelancers, 47% say that finding new customers is their biggest challenge, and the average contract length is currently six months and three weeks.
Regarding developments in the equality, diversity, and inclusion space, our survey reveals that further commitment from the industry-at-large is still needed. Disappointingly, 69% of respondents believe that their employer champions equal rights, down from 73% in our last study. Meanwhile, only 58% of employees believe their employer provides equal pay for equal work.
We’ll explore this data and much more throughout the rest of this guide—so keep reading!
Lastly, I would like to thank everyone who took part in our survey, as we couldn’t have produced this publication without your valuable contribution. And on that note, a big congratulations to our participation prize winner, Darren Kidson, Local Government Head of Digital Transformation & Delivery from the United Kingdom. Look out for your chance to take part in our survey again (and maybe win a prize!) next year.
Until next time,
Zoë Morris
President, Nigel Frank International
Exploring Training and certifictions in the Microsoft community
Insights for employers and hiring managers: Recruiting and keeping talent
The digital skills gap
Insights for candidates: Career development and the jobs market
Equality, diversity, and inclusion
Career spotlights
Exploring training and certifictions in the Microsoft community
Insights for employers and hiring managers: Recruiting and keeping talent
The digital skills gap
Insights for candidates: Career development and the jobs market
Equality, diversity, and inclusion
Career spotlights
Want the highlights from this year's Careers and Hiring Guide at a glance? Our key findings report contains our top level insight and salary tables, so you can compare your own salary or benchmark your teams' across the Microsoft ecosystem.
About this guide
This report is based on over 146,000 data points, including self-reported survey information from 1,117 Microsoft professionals worldwide between June and September 2023. Respondents span a range of industries, come from diverse personal and professional backgrounds, and include a mix of professionals and hiring managers.
We’ve validated every survey response using robust statistical analysis and automated data validation rules to be included in the final results. Any data that didn’t pass our validation rules and statistical analysis or was deemed questionable, incomplete, or duplicate was removed so that the results published are meaningful and accurate.
The following should be considered when interpreting the data in this report:
- When we refer to our previous survey/study we are referring to the combined data from our 2023 Nigel Frank Business Applications, and Microsoft 365 and Azure Careers and Hiring Guides
- Not all percentages add up to 100% because some questions have multiple-choice answers
- Answers are rounded for single-choice questions, so not all responses will total 100%
- Findings based on a small sample of results (i.e., under 5%) should be taken as indicative only
- For questions that asked for an open (qualitative) response, there may be some overlap in the quotes used to identify the themes, with quotes illustrating more than one theme
- Themes identified when grouping qualitative responses are displayed in no particular order of importance and are purely representative of the answers given
- Respondents’ views are their own and do not reflect the views of Nigel Frank and its employees
