The £7,769 gap and the roles closing it

Where the median comes from

We build the distribution from real, posted salaries on sanctioned job boards — only roles that actually disclose a band, deduped across sources. For mid-level data engineers the disclosed bands run from roughly £55,000 at the 25th percentile to £93,717 at the 75th, with a median near £62,769. The people furthest below it are almost always those who’ve stayed put: pay rises in place rarely track the external market.

Why the gap hides

Two reasons. First, internal raises anchor to last year’s you, not this year’s market. Second, you only see the roles you happen to scroll past — not the full set paying above your current number. The gap isn’t that you’re underqualified; it’s that you’re comparing against the wrong reference point.

The roles that close it

In this snapshot, 89 of the 169 postings for mid-level data engineers paid at or above the median — each one, on its own, enough to erase a bottom-quartile gap. Above the median there's another £30,948 to the upper quartile, measured over the same 169 postings — so for mid-level data engineers the ceiling is meaningfully above the middle, not just the floor below it. The move is the same either way: stop applying everywhere and apply to the 89 that already pay at or above median, with a CV tailored to each.

What to do this week

1. Anchor on the median for your exact role and level — not your current salary.
2. Filter to roles whose disclosed band closes the gap.
3. Tailor each application to the posting; send a few excellent ones, not fifty generic.
4. Track responses so you learn what actually converts.