Survey on What IT Engineers Want to Achieve Through Job Changes: 'Salary Increase' (65.1%) is Top Priority When Changing Jobs, but 'Work-Life Balance' (60.1%) Takes the Lead for Future Career Goals

Kikkake Creation Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Gashuto Kawashima) announces the results of a survey conducted on 258 IT engineers who have experienced job changes within the past three years, focusing on what they aim to achieve through career transitions.

The survey results reveal that while 'salary and compensation increase' (65.1%) was the most prioritized factor during job changes, the top priority for future career aspirations has shifted to 'maintaining work-life balance' (60.1%), marking a significant reversal. Additionally, the biggest obstacle in job hunting was identified as 'not knowing the market evaluation of one's skills' (38.4%), highlighting a strong demand for highly specialized support from job agents who can accurately assess engineers' market value and collaboratively design career paths that consider not only income but also long-term life planning.

01｜Over 70% of engineers expect job changes to improve their careers or work styles, but only 63.2% reported successful outcomes

02｜'Salary and compensation increase' (65.1%) is the top priority during job changes, while 'work-life balance' (60.1%) takes the lead for future career goals

03｜The biggest barrier to job changes is 'not knowing the market evaluation of one's skills' (38.4%), the most frequently cited challenge

Read the full column on this survey: https://kikkakeagent.co.jp/column/report/9939

Survey Overview

Survey Title: Survey on the Current State of What IT Engineers Want to Achieve Through Job Changes

Survey Method: Online survey planned by IDEATECH's research marketing platform 'Risapi®'

Survey Period: May 7–12, 2026

Valid Responses: 258 IT engineers who changed jobs within the past three years

※ Percentages are rounded to the second decimal place, so totals may not sum to exactly 100.

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Approximately 70% of engineers believe job changes can improve their careers and work styles

When asked, 'Q1. Do you think changing jobs can improve your career or work style?' (n=258), 23.6% responded 'strongly agree' and 49.2% 'somewhat agree'.

Q1. Do you think changing jobs can improve your career or work style?

・Strongly agree: 23.6%

・Somewhat agree: 49.2%

・Somewhat disagree: 13.6%

・Strongly disagree: 4.7%

・Unsure/No answer: 8.9%

'Salary and compensation increase' is the top goal, at 65.1%

When asked, 'Q2. Please tell us what you want to achieve through a job change (or wanted to achieve in a past job change). (Up to three top answers)' (n=258), 'increasing salary and compensation' was selected by 65.1%, 'improving work-life balance' by 53.5%, and 'enhancing technical skills as an engineer' by 38.0%.

Q2. Please tell us what you want to achieve through a job change (or wanted to achieve in a past job change). (Up to three top answers)

・Increase salary and compensation: 65.1%

・Improve work-life balance: 53.5%

・Enhance technical skills as an engineer: 38.0%

・Move to an environment where you can work with desired technologies or programming languages: 22.5%

・Work in an environment where you are fairly evaluated: 22.1%

・Obtain a position where you can participate in upstream processes or planning: 10.1%

・Pursue a career where you can deeply specialize in technology: 7.0%

・Work at a company that develops in-house products: 5.8%

・Move to a company with modern development environments and technology stacks: 4.3%

・Other: 0.8%

Comments such as 'salary doesn't match workload' and 'difficult to balance work and family due to excessive workload'

When asked, 'Q3. For the item you selected in Q2, please freely explain why it is the most important to you.' (n=258), 181 responses were collected.

＜Selected excerpts from open-ended responses＞

・I feel my current salary is low relative to my workload and responsibilities, so I hope to increase my annual income through a job change.

・I want to build assets and retire early.

・Achieving work-life balance. I had two children, but my previous job was too demanding.

・Improving technical skills. Even if my salary doesn't increase, improving my technical skills will help me achieve results and increase my value as an engineer. It will benefit me in future job changes and help me build a better career.

・Establishing work-life balance. Relying on a single job as an income source is risky, so I want to use my free time to secure additional income sources.

Desired salary increase: '¥500,000 to under ¥1,000,000' accounts for nearly 40%

When asked, 'Q4. How much do you want to increase your annual income through a job change (or how much did you want to increase it in a past job change)?' (n=258), 39.9% answered '¥500,000 or more but less than ¥1,000,000' and 24.4% answered '¥1,000,000 or more but less than ¥1,500,000'.

Q4. How much do you want to increase your annual income through a job change (or how much did you want to increase it in a past job change)?

・Less than ¥500,000: 3.9%

・¥500,000 or more but less than ¥1,000,000: 39.9%

・¥1,000,000 or more but less than ¥1,500,000: 24.4%

・¥1,500,000 or more but less than ¥2,000,000: 6.2%

・¥2,000,000 or more: 12.8%

・Not prioritizing salary increase: 6.6%

・Unsure/No answer: 6.2%

Slightly over 60% achieved their job change goals, while about 30% did not

When asked, 'Q5. Did you actually achieve the goals you wanted to achieve through your job change (as answered in Q3)?' (n=258), 22.9% responded 'not really achieved (or unlikely to be achieved)' and 5.4% 'not at all achieved (or impossible to achieve)'.

Q5. Did you actually achieve the goals you wanted to achieve through your job change (as answered in Q3)?

・Fully achieved (or likely to be achieved): 12.0%

・Partially achieved (or somewhat likely to be achieved): 51.2%

・Not really achieved (or unlikely to be achieved): 22.9%

・Not at all achieved (or impossible to achieve): 5.4%

・Unsure/No answer: 8.5%

Top barriers engineers face in job changes: 'not knowing the market evaluation of one's skills' (38.4%) and 'difficulty finding suitable job openings' (35.7%)

When asked, 'Q6. Please tell us the biggest obstacle you feel (or have felt) in achieving what you want through a job change. (Multiple answers allowed)' (n=258), 'not knowing the market evaluation of one's skills' was cited by 38.4%