Why software engineers change jobs: 159 reasons from our own conversations (Netherlands, 2026)
Gepubliceerd 2 november 2026 · laatst bijgewerkt · Chavez Peters · 3 min lezen
We read 188 switching notes from our conversations with software, data, cloud and AI engineers in the Netherlands. 52 percent mention technical growth, only 4 percent mention salary.
Short answer
Engineers rarely change jobs for money. In 159 switching reasons from our own conversations with software, data, cloud and AI engineers in the Netherlands, 52 percent mention technical challenge, growth or learning. A quarter want more ownership and impact, and almost a quarter look for security because their employer or project is falling away. Salary is the reason for 4 percent. About as many engineers say explicitly that money is not what drives them.
The Dutch version of this analysis: Waarom engineers overstappen.
How we measured this
After every conversation with a candidate we record why the person is open to a move. On 1 November 2026 we read those notes for 188 engineers with a technical profile: software (Java, .NET, Python, PHP, frontend), data, cloud and DevOps, security, test, ServiceNow and AI. The conversations run from 2020 to October 2026, most of them from 2025 and 2026.
159 of the 188 contain a clear reason. Each reason was coded by hand; one engineer can have several reasons, so the percentages add up to more than 100.
What makes engineers move
| Reason | Count | Share of 159 |
|---|---|---|
| Technical challenge, growth, learning or specialising | 82 | 52% |
| Ownership, impact, building instead of maintaining | 38 | 24% |
| Security: employer or project falls away, or a wish for stability | 36 | 23% |
| Team and colleagues | 28 | 18% |
| From freelance or secondment to a permanent, in-house or product role | 26 | 16% |
| Leadership or technical leadership | 21 | 13% |
| Salary | 7 | 4% |
| Location, commute or office | 6 | 4% |
What stands out
Growth comes first. More than half want to grow technically, often very concretely: a stack they want to learn, legacy they want to leave behind, or a role that has stalled.
They want to build, not maintain. A quarter mention ownership and impact. An environment where everything runs and most work is maintenance gives engineers little energy.
Uncertainty is an underrated channel. Almost a quarter start moving because of acquisitions, reorganisations, bankruptcies, projects that end or clients that hire fewer contractors. These people are not on job boards.
Money is rarely the reason. Salary is mentioned by 4 percent, and about as many say the opposite. The salary has to be right, but it is rarely the reason to leave. What engineers ask for in salary: salary expectations of engineers in 2026.
What this means for employers
- Sell the work, not the benefits. Describe the problem, the stack and what will exist in twelve months.
- Show who they will learn from. A team with strong engineers is a reason to move.
- Make ownership concrete. Can they choose tooling, shape architecture, build something from scratch?
- Reach out at the right moment. Acquisitions, reorganisations and ending projects create candidates.
- Still state the salary. Money rarely makes people leave, but a below-market salary does stop them.
Limits
These are a recruiter's notes, not a survey. They cover engineers who talked to us, so people already open to a move. Salary may play a bigger role than people say; we measure what engineers themselves give as their reason.
About Chase IT Recruitment
Chase IT Recruitment recruits software, data, cloud and AI engineers for permanent roles at companies across the Netherlands. No cure no pay, first qualified candidate within 5 working days, free replacement within 100 days. Feel free to use these figures with a credit and a link to this page.
Oprichter van Chase IT Recruitment. Bemiddelt al acht jaar niets anders dan Software en AI engineers, met 25.000+ actieve engineers in zijn netwerk. Spreekt elke week engineers en CTO's, en schrijft op wat hij daar hoort.
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Why do software engineers change jobs?
In 159 switching reasons from conversations of Chase IT Recruitment with software, data, cloud and AI engineers in the Netherlands, 52 percent mention technical challenge or growth, 24 percent ownership and impact, and 23 percent security. Salary is mentioned by 4 percent.
Is salary the main reason engineers leave?
No. In our own conversations 4 percent mention salary as their reason, and about as many say explicitly that money is not what drives them. A below-market salary does stop candidates from moving.