What do CAD professionals really want?

To find out what matters most to CAD professionals when it comes to their employment we surveyed over 1,000 CAD staff in the UK.

We asked 15 questions on their situation and job satisfaction to find out which factors are the most important. A bigger salary? More holidays? Or more responsibility?

- Check my salary -

[employment-survey-2020]

    In the UK the average salary is £34,124. The average age is 38.In the UK the average salary for a Junior CAD Technician is £22,604. The average age is 27.In the UK the average salary for a Intermediate Technician is £31,563. The average age is 37.In the UK the average salary for a Middle Management is £40,475. The average age is 40.In the UK the average salary for a Senior Management is £46,268. The average age is 43.In Ireland the average salary is £40,681. The average age is 43.In Ireland the average salary for a Junior CAD Technician is £19,483. The average age is 29.In Ireland the average salary for a Intermediate Technician is £24,542. The average age is 35.In Ireland the average salary for a Middle Management is £51,250. The average age is 50.In Ireland the average salary for a Senior Management is £46,250. The average age is 45.In London (Inside M25) the average salary is £35,963. The average age is 37.In London (Inside M25) the average salary for a Junior CAD Technician is £18,309. The average age is 32.In London (Inside M25) the average salary for a Intermediate Technician is £33,529. The average age is 35.In London (Inside M25) the average salary for a Middle Management is £43,056. The average age is 41.In London (Inside M25) the average salary for a Senior Management is £48,958. The average age is 41.In Midlands the average salary is £32,984. The average age is 38.In Midlands the average salary for a Junior CAD Technician is £18,740. The average age is 30.In Midlands the average salary for a Intermediate Technician is £30,893. The average age is 37.In Midlands the average salary for a Middle Management is £38,750. The average age is 40.In Midlands the average salary for a Senior Management is £43,551. The average age is 45.In North East the average salary is £35,415. The average age is 35.In North East the average salary for a Junior CAD Technician is £21,376. The average age is 28.In North East the average salary for a Intermediate Technician is £33,199. The average age is 40.In North East the average salary for a Middle Management is £30,834. The average age is 36.In North East the average salary for a Senior Management is £56,250. The average age is 37.In Wales the average salary is £33,299. The average age is 43.In Wales the average salary for a Junior CAD Technician is £32,501. The average age is 30.In Wales the average salary for a Intermediate Technician is £29,445. The average age is 40.In Wales the average salary for a Middle Management is £43,751. The average age is 45.In Wales the average salary for a Senior Management is £27,501. The average age is 57.In North West the average salary is £31,961. The average age is 36.In North West the average salary for a Junior CAD Technician is £14,772. The average age is 32.In North West the average salary for a Intermediate Technician is £36,694. The average age is 37.In North West the average salary for a Middle Management is £28,625. The average age is 35.In North West the average salary for a Senior Management is £47,750. The average age is 40.In Scotland the average salary is £35,321. The average age is 34.In Scotland the average salary for a Junior CAD Technician is £13,100. The average age is 27.In Scotland the average salary for a Intermediate Technician is £31,849. The average age is 35.In Scotland the average salary for a Middle Management is £43,334. The average age is 36.In Scotland the average salary for a Senior Management is £53,000. The average age is 39.In South East (Outside M25) the average salary is £36,369. The average age is 40.In South East (Outside M25) the average salary for a Junior CAD Technician is £26,473. The average age is 39.In South East (Outside M25) the average salary for a Intermediate Technician is £31,630. The average age is 36.In South East (Outside M25) the average salary for a Middle Management is £41,557. The average age is 40.In South East (Outside M25) the average salary for a Senior Management is £45,816. The average age is 44.In South West the average salary is £32,200. The average age is 37.In Midlands the average salary for a Junior CAD Technician is £15,738. The average age is 29.In Midlands the average salary for a Intermediate Technician is £31,936. The average age is 40.In Midlands the average salary for a Middle Management is £38,251. The average age is 37.In Midlands the average salary for a Senior Management is £42,875. The average age is 43.

    The average salary has increased by 7.5% from £31,668 in 2020 to £34,124 in 2021.

    Salary is still the deciding factor for most candidates with 79% of CAD staff saying it is a key motivator when changing to a new job.

    - Deciding factors -

    Why do candidates change jobs? Salary has remained the key factor since we started our survey 9 years ago. But working from home and flexibility are more important since COVID.  Don’t overlook training and better work environments.

    Over 60% of candidates say they have not received job related CAD training. This is an easy one to fix. 

    - Job security -

    How secure do you feel in your current role? The percentage of candidates feeling either secure or very secure has risen from 33% to 55%. A massive improvement for the CAD industry as a whole.

    - COVID 19 -

    Possibly the biggest improvement year-on-year we have seen. In 2020 a massive 70% claimed COVID 19 was damaging their prospects, this year that has dropped to just 44%!

    - Software -

    Software preferences have remained steady this year with a overwhelming reliance on AutoCAD. Regarding 3D software, there has been a small shift away from Autodesk Inventor towards SolidWorks. Revit has grown in popularity by 2% too.

    - Location -

    Much like in previous years, over 50% of respondents work in the South. We were expecting to see a jump in relocations outside of city centres but this doesn’t seem to have happened. The results are very similar to pre-COVID.

    - Age -

    This year has seen a drop of 18 to 24 year olds, down 2.3%. Although a small change, it could signal a lack of interest from university or college graduates. The two older age groups have seen small gains supporting this view.

    - Job seniority -

    Job levels have remained steady over the COVID period with a little over 50% in intermediate positions. We don’t tend to see big jumps here but self employed staff have seen a small drop which has coincided with new IR35 legislation. 

    - Job appreciation -

    2020 saw a big drop with candidates not feeling at all appreciated rising by 3%! This year has corrected that bringing it back down to 5% in line with most other years. Candidates feeling very appreciated has remained around 20%. This could have led to a reallocation with unappreciated staff moving companies.

    - Stress at work -

    Surprisingly, stress levels don’t seem to have risen dramatically over the COVID period. This might be linked to more staff being able to work from home and fit their jobs around family life. In our client survey we discovered this not to be a long term trend with very few companies wanting to offer permanent home based roles.

    - Training -

    Have you been offered training for the CAD software you use?

    - Software -

    Would you job be made easier using other CAD software?

    - Brexit -

    Has Brexit negatively affected your employment options?

    - Reward -

    How rewarding is your current role?

    - Progression-

    How likely do you feel progression through managment levels is?

    - How can CADagency help -

    Whether you are looking for a new role or have a vacancy to fill, we can help.

    Call us: 01245 790233

    Email: office@cadagency.co.uk

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