Wage premium for soft skills in IT sector

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to investigate the relationship between the demand on “soft” skills and suggested salaries for IT specializations in Russia. Design/methodology/approach Based on the database of vacancies, econometric modeling and cluster analysis of job occupations are implemented. Findings The results show positive association between demand for “soft” skills and wage if the model is controlled for the working experience and narrow professional occupations. Findings provide evidence that there is significant wage premium for “soft” skills in cases when job positions either imply no experience or require specialists with at least three years of tenure. Originality/value This research provides new evidence on the relationship between “soft” skills and wage using job postings data from Russia. This paper identifies the presence of wage premium for “soft” skills among IT specialists if controlling for sub-specializations, year, region and working experience. The robustness checks indicate no significant changes in the obtained results.