Master's Degree Job Trends in Northern Ireland

Master's Degree
UK > Northern Ireland

The table below provides summary statistics for permanent job vacancies advertised in Northern Ireland with a requirement for Master's Degree qualifications. It includes a benchmarking guide to the salaries offered over the 6 months leading up to 11 January 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
11 Jan 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 52 27 38
Rank change year-on-year -25 +11 +54
Permanent jobs citing Master's Degree 4 20 6
As % of all permanent jobs in Northern Ireland 0.80% 4.99% 1.82%
As % of the Qualifications category 2.37% 13.99% 5.36%
Number of salaries quoted 1 2 2
10th Percentile - £84,125 £52,375
25th Percentile £61,250 £84,688 £54,063
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £62,500 £91,250 £58,750
Median % change year-on-year -31.51% +55.32% -9.62%
75th Percentile £63,750 £99,688 £64,063
90th Percentile - £101,375 £66,125
UK median annual salary £77,500 £67,500 £72,500
% change year-on-year +14.81% -6.90% +16.00%

All Academic and Professional Certifications
Northern Ireland

Master's Degree falls under the Academic Qualifications and Professional Certifications category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all permanent job vacancies requiring academic qualifications or professional certifications in Northern Ireland.

Permanent vacancies requiring academic qualifications or professional certifications 169 143 112
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in Northern Ireland 33.60% 35.66% 33.94%
Number of salaries quoted 50 42 77
10th Percentile £35,895 - £29,994
25th Percentile £38,000 £34,112 £38,750
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £51,250 £40,221 £57,291
Median % change year-on-year +27.42% -29.79% +34.80%
75th Percentile £64,688 £62,365 £69,500
90th Percentile £79,411 £74,144 £78,750
UK median annual salary £55,000 £59,498 £57,500
% change year-on-year -7.56% +3.47% -

Master's Degree
Job Vacancy Trend in Northern Ireland

Historical trend showing the proportion of permanent IT job postings citing Master's Degree relative to all permanent IT jobs advertised in Northern Ireland.

Master's Degree job vacancy trend in Northern Ireland

Master's Degree
Salary Trend in Northern Ireland

Salary distribution trend for jobs in Northern Ireland citing Master's Degree.

Salary distribution trend for jobs in Northern Ireland citing Master's Degree

Master's Degree
Job Locations in Northern Ireland

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing Master's Degree within the Northern Ireland region over the 6 months to 11 January 2026. The 'Rank Change' column provides an indication of the change in demand within each location based on the same 6 month period last year.

Location Rank Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Matching
Permanent
IT Job Ads
Median Salary
Past 6 Months
Median Salary
% Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Live
Jobs
County Antrim -14 4 £62,500 -31.51% 10
Master's Degree
UK

Master's Degree
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in Northern Ireland by Category

The following tables expand on the one above by listing co-occurrences grouped by category. They cover the same employment type, locality and period, with up to 20 co-occurrences shown in each category:

Applications
1 1 (25.00%) Microsoft Excel
1 1 (25.00%) Microsoft PowerPoint
Business Applications
1 1 (25.00%) SAP S/4HANA
Cloud Services
1 1 (25.00%) GitHub
1 1 (25.00%) GitHub Actions
Database & Business Intelligence
1 1 (25.00%) SAP HANA
Development Applications
1 1 (25.00%) JIRA
General
1 3 (75.00%) Finance
2 2 (50.00%) Legal
3 1 (25.00%) Advertising
3 1 (25.00%) Aerospace
3 1 (25.00%) Analytical Skills
3 1 (25.00%) Automotive
3 1 (25.00%) Financial Institution
3 1 (25.00%) Front Office
Job Titles
1 2 (50.00%) Analyst
1 2 (50.00%) Business Analyst
1 2 (50.00%) Business Manager
1 2 (50.00%) Business Project Manager
1 2 (50.00%) Project Analyst
1 2 (50.00%) Project Manager
2 1 (25.00%) Artificial Intelligence Engineer
2 1 (25.00%) Full-Stack Engineer
2 1 (25.00%) Information Specialist
2 1 (25.00%) Lead
2 1 (25.00%) Lead Business Analyst
2 1 (25.00%) Lead Project Manager
2 1 (25.00%) Procurement Specialist
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 1 (25.00%) LangChain
1 1 (25.00%) Next.js
1 1 (25.00%) React
Miscellaneous
1 1 (25.00%) AI Agents
1 1 (25.00%) Management Information System
Processes & Methodologies
1 2 (50.00%) Agile
1 2 (50.00%) Computer Science
1 2 (50.00%) Project Management
1 2 (50.00%) Stakeholder Management
2 1 (25.00%) AI
2 1 (25.00%) Continuous Improvement
2 1 (25.00%) Cost-Benefit Analysis
2 1 (25.00%) Decision-Making
2 1 (25.00%) Front End Development
2 1 (25.00%) Information Management
2 1 (25.00%) Innovative Thinking
2 1 (25.00%) Machine Learning
2 1 (25.00%) Problem-Solving
2 1 (25.00%) Programme Delivery
2 1 (25.00%) Project Delivery
2 1 (25.00%) Test Planning
2 1 (25.00%) Test Strategy
2 1 (25.00%) User Acceptance Testing
2 1 (25.00%) User Stories
2 1 (25.00%) Workshop Facilitation
Programming Languages
1 1 (25.00%) Python
1 1 (25.00%) TypeScript
Qualifications
1 4 (100.00%) Degree
2 2 (50.00%) PMI Certification
2 2 (50.00%) PMP
3 1 (25.00%) CAPM
3 1 (25.00%) CBAP
3 1 (25.00%) Computer Science Degree
3 1 (25.00%) MBA
3 1 (25.00%) PgMP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 1 (25.00%) Basel III
1 1 (25.00%) EMIR
1 1 (25.00%) MiFID
1 1 (25.00%) PMO
System Software
1 1 (25.00%) Docker
Systems Management
1 1 (25.00%) Kubernetes
Vendors
1 1 (25.00%) IBM
1 1 (25.00%) SAP