De juiste sector kiezen om voor te werken als ingenieur kan je tarief enorm beïnvloeden. Overzicht van de Belgische STEM markt en freelancers tarieven.

Misschien had je het gevoel dat de freelancemarkt begin 2024 een beetje stagneerde, maar goed nieuws, hij veert weer op! Vooral in de snelgroeiende sectoren biowetenschappen, techniek en IT. Nu de vraag naar gespecialiseerde vaardigheden toeneemt, is inzicht in de huidige tarieftrends essentieel voor freelancers die willen onderhandelen over de best mogelijke contracten.

Het vervolg van dit artikel is in het Engels.

You might have the feeling that the freelance market was a bit quiet beginning of 2024, but good news, it is bouncing back! Especially in the thriving life sciences, engineering, and IT sectors. With demand for specialized skills on the rise, understanding current rate trends is essential for freelancers looking to negotiate the best possible contracts.

This article dives into the freelance hourly rates across key STEM functions and how it evolved, providing the insights you need to maximize your earning potential and capitalize on the renewed market momentum. Whether you’re an industry veteran or a newcomer, knowing these trends will empower you to secure competitive compensation in this dynamic landscape.

STEM freelance hourly rates

The following graphs provide a detailed overview of the freelance hourly rates across various key functions within the IT, life sciences and engineering sectors*. The data illustrates the minimum, maximum, and average rates for each role, offering valuable insights into current market trends.

*(The data has been collected from about 500 new missions that were concluded in 2022. Only function categories with enough occurrences have been included in this sample).

The level of IT job is looking bright

No big change on the rate side of IT

After the crazy indexation, which gave freelancers opportunity to increase their rates too, it’s the time of stabilization. For some functions, it almost seems rates have reached a glass ceiling; .net developer, project manager and analyst. With more people applying and lots of generalist IT profile, companies have a larger pool of talent to choose from.

Looking for a few tips to help you make the most of the situation?

develop specific expertise and skills
work with a recruiter who has a hint with the client. They better know the client needs and can better position your CV
despite the fact that homeworking is way more common today leaving less room to negotiate the rates on that level. You can propose your service with a rate that will vary based on the number of remote days per week.

Beginning of this year was a bit slow in terms of job level on the IT market but today we see a change and the level of job is looking bright again.

Highest Earning Potential: The roles with the highest maximum rates are Business Analysis and Information Security, with freelancers in these categories earning up to €120 per hour.
Most Consistent Rates: Java and .NET Development show similar and stable average rates at €70 per hour, with narrow rate ranges.
Varied Rates: Architecture and Information Security have a broader range of rates, indicating a higher variability in compensation based on expertise and project requirements.

Is there a trend in Life Sciences shifting from freelancer role into more perm and project team delivery? At SThree we are closely following this up.

Freelancer rates haves evolved at different pace following the indexation of January 2023. In some companies increase have been automatic and in other the rate slowly increased later through the year. Today we can say it is stable.

Demand for engineering profiles in Life Sciences on the rise

Where we see a growth though is in the demand for engineering profiles in Life Sciences: medical device (a consequence of the EU regulation – MDR), digitalization and automatization which is linked to the modernization of the production site. We expect this to potentially have an impact on the rates depending on whether you possess associated skills or not.

Finally, we can say that companies in Life Sciences are continuously looking for talent. Where we might have observed a slow down for contingent workers in some companies beginning of 2024, we also observed a transition to permanent jobs and full project team delivery. Is this a sustainable trend and if so what can be the impact for freelancers? This is something at SThree we will closely follow-up.

Highest Earning Potential: QA Support and QA Consulting roles have the highest maximum rates, with freelancers in these categories earning up to €110 and €100 per hour, respectively. This suggests high demand for specialized skills and experience in these areas.
Most Consistent Rates: QA Packaging and QC Consulting roles exhibit the most consistent rates, indicating a stable demand and uniformity in the required skill sets.
Varied Rates: QA Support and QA Consulting display the widest rate ranges, highlighting the diverse levels of expertise and project requirements within these roles.

Choosing the right sector to work for as engineer can massively impact your rate.

In engineering roles, the most important trend is the stabilization of the rate

Where the cost increased by up to 15€/hour right after the covid period, this is not the case today and some clients or sectors can’t or don’t want to afford those higher rates today. This is specifically true in the chemical, petrochemical or sectors with a local production plant. There are more candidates available on the market today than 2 years ago, which gives them more options and so more room to negotiate.

Choosing the right sector to work for as engineer can massively impact your rate. Therefore our advice to engineering freelancers is to also look outside of the sector they are currently working in. Chemical which used to be high payers are a now bit less and the energy sector is more booming than before for example.

Highest Earning Potential: Project Engineering roles have the highest maximum rates, with freelancers in this category earning up to €100 per hour. This suggests a high demand for project engineering skills and the value placed on experienced professionals in this field.
Most Consistent Rates: Supply Chain Management exhibits the most consistent rates, indicating a uniform demand and a standard valuation of skills in this role.
Varied Rates: Design and Project Engineering display the widest rate ranges, highlighting the diverse levels of expertise and project requirements within these roles.

Conclusion

The past years have been kind of a rollercoaster in some sectors and for some freelancers. Nevertheless we observe a resilience in the STEM roles and sectors which allow freelancers to secure missions, extension of missions and interesting rates. The years 2024 and 2025 look promising but with local and political changes, climate transition to only name those, we can expect that our adaptation skills and those of everyone in the freelancer community will be again challenged in all ways!