While mining dominated the list of top earning jobs on Seek in 2013, information and communication technology (ICT) has taken the number-one spot in 2018.
The highest paying job, in the 2017/18 financial year, was an architecture role in the ICT sector. The salary came in at $138,144.
In the 2012/13 financial year, the mining, resources and energy industry featured 13 times in the top 20 list – taking out the top six spots.
This year, the mining, resources and energy featured twice in the top 20 list.
READ: Seek data shows mining, engineering salaries top rankings
But roles, such as ICT architect positions, are proving important to business and salaries are growing.
Davidson Recruitment projects and technology practice leader, Qamram Somjee, said employers were willing to pay a premium for these important strategic roles.
ICT architects are technical experts, who also have a strong business understanding and great stakeholder management skills.
“This type of strategic mindset and understanding of an organisation’s disparate systems means ICT architects often come from cross-functional project backgrounds.
The second highest paying job was a management position in engineering, followed by a management role in ICT.
Mining, resources and energy came in at fourth place, with a management role, with a salary of $131,462.
In 2012/13, the highest-paying role for the year was mining – exploration and geoscience, with a salary of $146,596.
Davidson Recruitment principal consultant Donna Ison said salaries across the mining industry would remain steady.
“Mining salaries will stay fairly stable, but management roles in mining will always command high salaries due to the criticality of this role to the success of a business.”
Other notable changes to Seek’s highest paying jobs list include the addition of two accounting roles.
Strategy and planning, and financial managers and controllers, came in at numbers six ($128,373) and seven ($126,906) respectively this year. Neither appeared in the top 20 list in 2013.
Andrew Brushfield, director of recruitment company Robert Half, said the rise of data science now placed a greater focus on strategic accounting skills.
“Candidates for strategic roles are expected to analyse data and communicate its impact to the broader business,” he said.
“Strategy is less predictable and therefore unlikely to be affected by automation. Highly skilled financial managers are also sought after as companies are now looking to drive greater efficiencies across their business,” said Brushfield.
Industries such as education and training experienced a 19.15 per cent rise in salaries over the five-year period, at $69,238 in 2013, compared to $82,498 in 2018.
Hays Education regional director Alex Jones said the increase was led by expanding pay packets in early childhood education.
A lack of qualified early childhood teachers meant employers were willing to pay more for quality talent, he said.
Recent regulations have also changed the maximum students-per-teacher ratio, which has increased the demand for educators.
“This has led to more early childhood teachers negotiating a higher salary, which providers are willing to provide to secure the best talent,” said Jones.
The legal industry also featured on the top 20 list.