One in four freelancers working in IT relies on permanent collaboration and long-term projects. Every second one is a man aged 25-34. Nearly one in five earns more than £1,900 per month net. Although amounts exceeding £3,200 in pay are also not uncommon, despite — or perhaps because of — the pandemic.

There is probably no other area of freelance work more associated with prestige and high earnings than programming and IT broadly understood. The fact that this group attracts great interest also among people outside the industry is evidenced by, among other things, the number of stereotypes circulating about programmers online, as well as the number of search engine queries about their earnings. That is why Useme.com decided to survey this group of freelancers to dispel any doubts.

[REPORT]: How Much Do Polish Programmers Earn? — illustration 1

Who Are They?

Who are Polish freelance programmers?

IT is a field dominated by men worldwide. This rule also applies to Poland and to the segment of this professional group that specializes in carrying out freelance orders. Useme's research shows that they account for as many as 94.3% of respondents, compared to 5.7% women. Among freelance programmers, the largest group (50.6% of those surveyed) are young people, i.e., those aged 25-34. In second place (28.1%) are somewhat older freelancers, i.e., those aged 35-44, while those aged 18-24 are represented by one in four (24.1%) respondents. The smallest age groups among programmers are 45-54 (2.3%) and 55-64 (1.1%).

How Much Does a Polish Freelance Programmer Earn?

How much does a Polish freelance programmer earn?

This aspect of Polish programmers' work probably attracts the greatest interest and, consequently, the most emotion. IT is traditionally the professional group with the highest earnings on the market. Of course, pay depends on several factors, i.e.: experience, including the number of completed projects and their level of complexity or scope of work, specialization, the strength of one's personal brand — or in other words, the freelancer's rating on freelance platforms — as well as the number and quality of references. One should also take into account whether the freelancer supports themselves solely through freelancing or merely earns extra income from it. Useme's research shows that for nearly half (49.5%) of respondents, freelancing is their only form of earning, while for the remaining 50.5% it is a way of supplementing income from full-time employment or another main occupation.

In the surveyed group, every third (32.1%) programmer surveyed declared that they earn up to PLN 3,000 per month from freelancing (approximately £570). Typically, such earnings go to younger specialists or junior programmers who work part-time while studying at university, or to freelancers who supplement their main professional occupation with orders. In turn, pay of PLN 3,000-5,000 (approximately £570-£950) is received by 17.2% of Polish IT specialists working as freelancers. Nearly every fourth freelancer earns more than PLN 5,000 per month (approximately £950), of which 20.7% of respondents earn in the range of PLN 5,000-10,000 (approximately £950-£1,900), and 17.2% earn more than PLN 10,000 per month net (approximately £1,900). In this group, earnings exceeding PLN 15,000 (approximately £2,850) are increasingly common, and often even PLN 17,000 (approximately £3,230). This is a significant difference compared to other groups of freelancers in our country, for whom pay above PLN 10,000 is not the standard. It should be noted, however, that the highest earnings are reserved for experienced experts in rare areas of IT, e.g., iOS mobile developers or advanced IT systems architects.

Women freelancers who are IT specialists unfortunately earn less than their male colleagues. Women earning more than PLN 10,000 per month (approximately £1,900) account for only 1% of surveyed freelancers, while men account for 5%. In the PLN 5,000-10,000 range (approximately £950-£1,900), women represent only 7%, while men represent 11% of respondents.

- All freelancers are one of the few professional groups that gained thanks to Covid-19, both in terms of the number of orders and rate increases. However, it is freelancers who are IT specialists that can feel like the true beneficiaries of the current situation, as they have gained the most – says Przemysław Głośny, CEO of Useme.com, Central and Eastern Europe's largest platform for settling freelance work. – Over the past twelve months of the pandemic, the increase in pay for this professional group amounted to about 12%. However, everything indicates that programmers' earnings in 2021 will continue to grow. – adds Głośny of Useme.

How Many Projects Does a Freelance Programmer Complete?

How many projects does a freelance programmer complete?

How much do Polish programmers earn according to the Useme report?

Report: earnings of freelance programmers in Poland

Nearly every third respondent (29.9%) declared that they complete 1 to 3 orders per month, thereby giving way to translators and graphic designers. Programmers also hover near the average when it comes to a larger monthly number of orders: 14.9% complete 3 to 5 per month, and another 6.9% complete 5 to 10 commissioned jobs.

Differences only become visible above the level of 10 orders per month: only 5.7% of surveyed IT specialists are that busy with work, compared to 12.5% of graphic designers, 21.7% of copywriters, and 26.4% of translators. Another difference is visible in the group of freelance programmers engaged in long-term collaborations. One in four respondents (25.3%) works this way. This is a huge difference compared, for example, to 4.6% of translators, 9.3% of copywriters, and 6.8% of graphic designers. This proves that programmers have fewer orders, but they are more time-consuming.

 

The report "HOW MUCH DOES A POLISH PROGRAMMER — FREELANCER EARN AND WHO ARE THEY" was prepared by the Useme.com platform in April 2021. Data compiled on the basis of a study carried out by Useme on a representative sample of 1,076 freelancers, using the CAWI research method, at the turn of 2020/21.

Summary

The Useme.com report shows that a Polish freelance programmer is most often a man aged 25-34, for whom freelancing is sometimes their only source of income. Although every third one earns up to PLN 3,000 (approximately £570) per month, nearly one in five achieves an income above PLN 10,000 net (approximately £1,900), and some specialists exceed even PLN 17,000 (approximately £3,230). Over the past twelve months of the pandemic, pay in this group increased by about 12%.

Programmers stand out compared to other freelancers – they complete fewer orders, but more often based on permanent, long-term collaboration (25.3% of those surveyed). They turned out to be the true beneficiaries of the pandemic, and their earnings are expected to continue growing in 2021.