Time spent on computers may in fact be more profitable for young people in the long run than socialising, as jobs that require computer language coding skills earn on average £16,523 more per year than positions which require an additional human language.
The data – collated in June 2018 by European job site Adzuna – takes into account 10 of the most sought-after coding and human languages listed by employers in Britain.
And it shows the average salary of people who code is £50,286, compared to just £33,376 for jobs which require an employee to speak a second language. ‘Java developer’ is now the best-paid coding job in the UK, offering an average advertised salary of £61,980; meanwhile, ‘Arabic speaker’ is the most sought-after second language to have in the UK, offering an average advertised salary of £43,544.
Since 2017 alone, coding salaries have increased by 9.2%, whereas language salaries have only increased by 7.8% and come in just under the national average salary (£33,708).
Additionally, not only are coding jobs becoming increasingly better paid, they’re also more prevalent, as Adzuna have seen a 14.2% rise in computer coding advertised vacancies in the past year.
Interestingly, the research uncovered that languages, though slightly flagging, are still in demand by UK employers. In some cases, they are willing to pay above the average wage for employees with an additional language; this sometimes means reaching out overseas, even though Brexit looms on the horizon.
Andrew Hunter, co-founder of Adzuna, commented: “In the past, one of the best ways for people to improve their employability and earning potential was to speak a second language. However, in 2018, computer languages look set to out-earn human ones. Java and Python have become the new Mandarin.
“At Adzuna we feel it’s really important to talk about these emerging trends, so that our education system and our national conversation can adapt to these changes in the job market and so that we can ensure we are arming our children and young people with the right skills for the future.”