Southampton, England – September 17, 2026 -- Nearly 40% of data centre professionals in Europe and the US plan to change jobs within the next 12 months, despite most having received a pay rise in the past year, according to DataX Connect's 2026 Data Centre Salary Survey of more than 1,700 professionals across the UK, Europe and the United States.
Pay rises fail to stop nearly 40% of staff from job hunting
38.8% of permanent professionals in Europe and 37.8% in the US intend to switch companies within a year, even though 65% of European and 71% of US respondents saw a salary increase over the past 12 months. In Europe, career development is now the top reason for leaving, cited by 36.0% of respondents. In the US, salary remains the leading factor at 31.4%, with career development close behind at 29.5%.
Nearly half of women report gender has hurt their pay or advancement
46.4% of women surveyed in Europe and 51.4% in the US said their gender had affected their compensation or career progression, compared with just 1.7% of men in Europe and 2.2% in the US. Among women who reported an impact, 97% said the effect was negative.
Adjacent industries supply over a third of new data centre talent
41.7% of European respondents entered the data centre sector from energy, semiconductor or pharmaceutical roles, while 36.9% of US respondents came from energy or military backgrounds, pointing employers toward transferable-skill talent pools beyond traditional data centre hiring.
Benefit preferences diverge sharply between Europe and the US
Shares, stocks or equity ranked as the most requested additional benefit in Europe, chosen by 30.3% of respondents, while a car or fuel allowance topped US preferences at 38.1%, underscoring regional differences in compensation expectations.
"Nearly half of women in our survey say their gender has affected their pay or career progression, and one of the clearest drivers is the lack of visible female role models in senior data centre roles," said Andy Davis, Director, DataX Connect and Data eXec. "If people can't see a path for themselves, they're far less likely to stick around and carve one out."