London might be the obvious choice for the best city in the UK for digital industry careers, but several other places around the country are well worth considering. Job site Monster.co.uk recently ranked cities across the UK to come up with a list of the best places to develop a career in the digital industry.
According to Monster’s Digital Cities, Birmingham is the top place outside of London for a digital career, with Milton Keynes, Manchester and Leeds trailing closely behind. Bristol took fifth spot, with Brighton, Edinburgh, Belfast, Newcastle and Cardiff rounding out the top 10.
They reached their conclusions after considering factors like available digital jobs, digital economy growth, and the area’s quality of life. Full details can be seen at Monster’s Digital Cities Hub.
The findings give hope to people just starting out in their careers who can’t quite afford London. There are plenty of opportunities outside of the city where people can enjoy a rewarding career.
What makes Birmingham stand out?
Birmingham’s 33 per cent industry growth year over year, average salaries exceeding £43,000, and 400-plus available digital jobs cemented its place as the top city outside of London; average rents of £638 for a one-bed home and £4 for a pint certainly helped.
West Midlands Growth Company Chief Executive Neil Rami highlighted what makes the city such a standout: “The latest data from global jobs site Monster reinforces Birmingham’s reputation as a world-class, burgeoning hub for tech and digital. The city has more incubators and accelerator programmes than any other city outside London, a dynamic, young talentpool and a host of unique, co-working spaces to support growing tech firms. Complimenting this is a rich tech supply chain, with more software developers, programmers and software architects in Birmingham than any other regional city in the UK.”
He added that the tech scene there is really just starting to take off, making it the perfect time for those seeking career opportunities in digital.
While Leeds actually had higher average earnings at £50,041 and a lower cost of living than Birmingham, the lower number of available jobs (310) saw it rank fourth.
Meanwhile, seventh-placed Edinburgh noted the highest average earnings at £53,019, while Belfast enjoyed the lowest rents at £528.50 and greatest digital growth at 37 per cent.
Monster.co.uk’s Marketing Director, Louise Goodman, said their rankings illustrate how much the UK’s digital industry is thriving not just in London, but throughout the country.
