20 highest-paying jobs in your region

Whether you’re looking for a new job – or you just want to know what a certain job could earn – it’s often useful to get a picture of what roles are paying across the country. And when it comes to salary conversations, knowledge can give you much more bargaining power.

That’s why we’ve gathered the latest data to show you the highest-paying jobs in your region.

Select a region from the drop-down menu below to find out the highest-paying jobs where you are.

Choose your region...AucklandChristchurchHamiltonWellington View

Source: SEEK Employment Report, based on average annual packaged salaries of full-time roles listed on SEEK May 2020 – April 2021, compared to May 2019 – April 2020.

Only the regions of Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Hamilton are depicted due to the limited size of the other locations.

Source: SEEK Employment Report, based on average annual packaged salaries of full-time roles listed on SEEK May 2020 – April 2021, compared to May 2019 – April 2020.

Only the regions of Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Hamilton are depicted due to the limited size of the other locations.

Source: SEEK Employment Report, based on average annual packaged salaries of full-time roles listed on SEEK May 2020 – April 2021, compared to May 2019 – April 2020.

Only the regions of Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Hamilton are depicted due to the limited size of the other locations.

Source: SEEK Employment Report, based on average annual packaged salaries of full-time roles listed on SEEK May 2020 – April 2021, compared to May 2019 – April 2020.

Only the regions of Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Hamilton are depicted due to the limited size of the other locations.

Senior role types in high demand

Many of the highest-paying jobs across New Zealand are for senior role types, such as management, planning or leadership.

Oli Sanford-Scutt, Division Manager ­– Accounting and Finance at Consult, says this may be due to greater demand for people to lead business transformation strategies following the pandemic.

“Businesses are looking to do things differently since COVID and this has created demand for skill sets that they may not have had before,” he says. “With borders being closed, there is a smaller pool of candidates and more job opportunities, and this has driven up salaries.”

Tech salaries on top

If you work in Information and Communications Technology (ICT), it may be time to plan your next salary conversation as ICT accounts for six of the top 20 highest-paying role types nationally.

ICT Architects is the highest-paying role type nationally ($139,758), followed by Management ($135,390) and Product Management & Development ($120,059).

Richard Vaughan, Co-Founder and Senior Recruitment Consultant at Younity New Zealand, says the ICT market has been busier than ever in recent months.

“Projects that were put on hold last year have kicked off and technology has become so important in response to COVID,” he says. “Demand for candidates is outstripping supply.”

Salaries add up in accounting

The Accounting industry has two of the top 20 highest-paying role types in New Zealand, including Strategy & Planning ($130,983). However, candidate supply is in line with the 5-year average, so carefully plan your next salary conversation to show why you’re worth more.

“When you are having conversations about salary, whether in a job interview or with your current employer, you need to explain the impact that you have on a business,” says Sanford-Scutt. “A lot of people struggle to talk about their key achievements and to give clear examples of the impact that they've made. If you’ve implemented a new system to streamline processes, for example, how much did it save the business?”

Solid results for engineering

Management roles in the engineering industry are the fourth-highest paying in the country ($125,324).

Chris Story, Principal Consultant at Construction & Technical Recruitment, says there is strong demand for engineers on infrastructure projects.

“There’s a lot of government and private sector development occurring at the moment, and projects that were on hold due to COVID have now come back online,” he says. “There’s a shortage of experienced candidates, especially because of the border closures and travel restrictions.

Story adds that there is strong demand for senior roles in engineering, because employers are looking for more than technical skills and expertise. “They also want candidates with commercial, client relationship and business development experience to help lead growth.”

“Before having a conversation about salary with your current employer, I suggest doing some research on what other people in the industry with similar experience are getting paid,” adds Story. “If the number is higher than what you're on, then talk to your employer about pay parity and ask what you need to do to be able to get to that level.”

Keeping across salary trends for your role type can help you to build confidence – and bargaining power – for your next salary conversation. If you’re working in one of these roles or industries, it may be time to think about how you can aim for a pay rise.

Read more:

• How to answer: ‘What are your salary expectations?’
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