Are My Salary Expectations Too High for DevOps and Infrastructure Roles?

Yeah, salaries have definitely dropped quite a bit. From what I see, it's become a flat market. Even in my situation, I’d be taking a £30k pay cut to leave my current job! For positions that haven’t seen a salary drop, the requirements in terms of experience and seniority have just gone up. It feels like what we're seeing is title deflation, and while it might seem bad now, it could turn out okay in the long run.

It really depends on what your 15 years in infra roles entail. If those years are equivalent to just one really solid year of learning, then £65k might be on the high side. But if you have deep expertise, especially in areas like OS and networking, you could be looking at salaries closer to £100k. What specific knowledge gaps did they mention during your interview?

Honestly, £65k doesn't sound unreasonable given your experience mix in infra and DevOps. However, with so many companies tightening their budgets, they can afford to be pickier about applicants. Especially for remote roles, where the competition is fierce, it may help to brush up on the latest tools and cloud trends. Consider being a bit flexible on your salary initially and then negotiate once you’re in; stability might be more important than maxing out your salary right away.

I’ve got six years of experience in London and I’m at £60k. It looks like higher salaries are hard to come by unless you’re moving into principle engineer or management roles. Just keep that in mind as you navigate this job hunt.

I feel you on this—I'm stuck in a similar position, where leaving would mean about a £40k pay cut. At this point, it seems like staying with my current employer and waiting for a better opportunity is the best route.