With all the difficulties that we know exist after the covid-19 pandemic and with the war in Ukraine, it is believed that in 2023 there may be an economic recovery of the businesses that suffered the most, but also that the companies that proved to be resilient and even innovators can grow, whether in the internal or external market. This environment will determine which are the best professions in Portugal, the most sought after and the respective average wages.
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The economic context
Despite the difficulties resulting from increases in energy and raw material costs, logistical difficulties and inflation, the unemployment rate in Portugal is one of the lowest in the European Union and, therefore, the labor market will most likely follow a path similar, with great demand for specialists.
We will analyse, with the available data, which are the best professions, the most sought after and the respective average salaries in Portugal.
According to the 2023 Salary Survey by Robert Walters (RW), technologies are increasingly automating and robotizing processes in all sectors, as well as the use of Artificial Intelligence that is changing the decision-making process, will make the labor market more dynamic and demanding.
Profiles related to Cyber Security, to Renewable energy and in particular projects such as Hidrogénio Verde will tend to have a high growth potential.
For example, in the area of Accounting and Finance, there will continue to be a need for good treasury management and the financial capacity of companies. Therefore, functions such as Financial Director, Financial Auditor or Accounting Management, among others, will continue to be sought after in 2023.
Average salaries in Portugal
A Robert Walters publishes, annually, a survey of the remuneration of the most sought-after professions in the markets where it operates and makes these results available for consultation, with three levels of experience, 2 to 5 years, 5 to 10 years and more than 10 years, with the minimum and maximum gross annual salary, without fringe benefits.
Thus, for the functions of the Accounting and Finance area of a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) a base salary between €75.000 and €95.000 and with experience between 5 to 10 years, while a Financial Auditor with the same experience may earn between €30.000 and €40.000.
As for Engineering and Operations, in the area of renewable energies, a Project Director with between 5 and 10 years of experience can earn between €65.000 and €90.000.
For Information Technology specialists the report presents salaries for experience with more than 10 years in a range of €90.000 to €120.000 per year.
For example, IT Manager with more than 10 years, between €80.000 to €120.000 per year.
As for Sales and Marketing professionals, specialization in areas such as Renewable Energies, Electronic Commerce, Artificial Intelligence and International Expansion will be among the most sought after.
Functions such as a Sales Manager with between 5 and 10 years of experience can earn a salary between €40.000 and €60.000, a Content Manager between €25.000 and €35.000 and a Marketing Director with a salary between €50.000 and €70.000, with the same experience .
Human Resources continue to rise with salaries that can range from €60.000 to €100.000, for a Human Resources Director and a Training & Development Manager with more than 10 years of experience can get between €40.000 to €45.000.
In addition to the technical knowledge required by professionals in the business world, mastery of foreign languages is also in sight, necessary for communication in an increasingly global market.
Still, according to Robert Walters, a top professional should have a strong component of “soft skills”, with great resilience and emotional intelligence.
It is also verified that, in general, the most relevant factors for maintaining a good level of job satisfaction are: a good balance between work and family life, having feedback and motivation on the part of company leaders and managers, as well as remuneration and competitive benefits.
A Michael Page (MP) also publishes a Remuneration Study for Portugal, by Sector of Activity, with the average salaries of the best professions in Portugal and the 35 countries where it has an office.
Thus, according to this source, in the Industrial sector, a General Manager can have a salary between €110.000 and €170.000 in Lisbon and €95.000 to €140.000 in Porto; o Factory Director (Plant Manager) from €72.000 to €120.000 in Lisbon and €75.000 to €105.000 in Porto; the Quality Engineer from €24.000 to €34.000 and from €18.200 to €35.000 or the Project Manager, from €33.000 to €52.000 and from €25.200 to €52.000, respectively in Lisbon and Porto, among others.
In the Information Technology (IT) sector, a Project Manager can earn between €50.000 and €70.000 in Lisbon and €35.000 to €60.000 in Porto, while a Development Director can earn between €70.000 and €90.000 in Lisbon and €49.000 to €60.000 in Porto.
Functions such as Front-end Developer earn between €40.000 to €70.000 in Lisbon and €23.000 to €55.000 in Porto and Back-end Developer between €40.000 to €65.000 in Lisbon and €30.000 to €50.000 in Porto.
Regarding the Project Manager, the gross annual salary varies between €50.000 and €70.000 in Lisbon and €35.000 to €60.000 in Porto.
A Digital Transformation Manager earns between €80.000 to €90.000 in Lisbon and €49.000 to €85.000 in Porto.
Another very interesting source that can be consulted is the Encyclopedia for Professional Career Management in Portugal from Randstad.
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