Finding a job that offers regular pay increases, or at least opportunities to climb the ranks, can be easier said than done.
For many, looking to up their take home pay in 2025 might have made it onto their list of new year’s resolutions.
But it isn’t always easy to know what careers are currently offering the chance of above-inflation pay rises.
Firms operating within the engineering and manufacturing, technology, legal, and finance sectors have delivered the highest pay rises in 2024, research shows.
Fabricators and welders were on the end of the highest pay increase, Hays data shown exclusively to This is Money reveals, receiving a 9.5 per cent increase on average in 2024. The average salary for these roles is £33,500 in 2024.
This is a pay increase of some £3,000 to the current average salary.
In demand: Welders saw the largest pay increase, with the average salary increased by 9.5 per cent
Most welders and fabricators enter these jobs by completing an apprenticeship or by gaining a certification through an industry body.
Meanwhile, risk surveyors, who earn an average of £55,400, saw an increase of 9.2 per cent, equating to an increase of almost £5,000.
To be a risk surveyor you will likely need insurance experience and recognised industry qualifications or access a graduate scheme after finishing university.
Pam Lindsay-Dunn, chief operating officer of Hays UK and Ireland, told This is Money: ‘Despite a tough labour market, the UK is still grappling with a critical skills shortage.
‘Our top ten salary increases from 2024 highlight the areas most in need of talent.
‘While these roles may not be the highest paying, they clearly show where skilled professionals are in high demand.’
‘Engineering roles continue to dominate our salary increase lists, driven by an ageing workforce and a lack of new entrants to the workplace. In the tech sector, cyber roles are more crucial than ever as organisations strive to protect themselves from risk.
‘Traditional finance and accounting skills remain sought after, with salaries for part-qualified accountants steadily rising.’
If you are looking for a career change, as so many are, it might be worth considering a role that looks set to deliver generous pay increases.
In fact, research from TotalJobs reveals that as many as 42 per cent of people are looking for a job or planning to find a new job in 2025, with 13 per cent actively seeking a new role.
Of these looking for a fresh start, the data indicates that on average they are only considering roles offering a 13 per cent pay increase.
Despite this, the research – which saw 10,000 salaries analysed, reveals that UK salaries increased by just 2.4 per cent over 2024, lower than the average increase of 3.5 per cent in 2023.
The highest pay rise in value terms was given to technology cyber managers. While they received an 8.5 per cent pay rise on average, they were generally earning £100,500 in 2024, meaning that they saw an average increase of almost £8,000.
In-house lawyers in commerce and industry who have between seven and 10 years of experience after qualifying, who typically earn £87,625, and software architects, who earn around £83,444 on average, also saw high value pay rises, receiving 7.6 per cent and 7.2 per cent respectively.
Lawyers with just a year’s worth of post-qualification experience could only command a pay rise of 7.2 per cent, though still the eight highest average pay rise.
‘In the legal field, midweight and newly qualified solicitors are in high demand, not just in the UK but also in the US, pushing salaries up. Overall – employers are doing their best to boost pay to attract and retain talent in this challenging market,’ Lindsay-Dunn said.
| Job | Industry | Salary (average 2024) | % Salary increase since 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fabricator/welder | Engineering/ manufacturing | £33,500 | 9.5% |
| 2 | Risk surveyor/consultant | Insurance | £55,400 | 9.2% |
| 3 | Industrial engineer | Engineering/ manufacturing | £44,000 | 8.6% |
| 4 | Technology cyber manager (operational) | Technology | £100,500 | 8.5% |
| 5 | Site Supervisor | Engineering/ manufacturing | £45,000 | 8% |
| 6 | In-house lawyer (7-10 Years PQE – commerce and industry) | Legal | £87,625 | 7.6% |
| 7 | Part-qualified accountant (finalist) | Finance | £41,375 | 7.6% |
| 8 | In-house lawyer (1 year PQE) | Legal | £54,000 | 7.2% |
| 9 | Software architect (Microsoft Stack) | Technology | £83,444 | 7.2% |
| 10 | Contracts manager | Procurement | £53,667 | 6.8% |
Meanwhile, industrial engineers and sit supervisors were on the receiving end of higher percentage increases despite lower salaries, with employees taking home pay rises of 8.6 per cent and 8.0 per cent each.
Notably, those job roles receiving the highest pay rises were not also present in the top ten last year, so it isn’t a sure bet that they will pay out the same in future.
In 2023, the highest pay rises were seen by machine learning scientists, who netted an 11.9 per cent increase, as well as coded welders, information security architects, energy managers and bolting technicians.
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