20 Highest Paying Jobs in Information Technology (IT)

When you choose a career path to pursue, you decide to dedicate your time, effort, and resources to achieve a degree that will guide you towards the goal of landing the dream job. Because of all the sacrifices that you will make along the way, it is crucial to be satisfied with all aspects of whichever path you choose, including the salary.

Pursuing information technology as a career discipline is of good value since it has a high return on investment. To ensure you are well compensated for all the work you do to achieve a position in the IT department and the many tasks and duties you will deal with daily in that role, read on and see which are the best paying jobs in technology.

What Is Information Technology?

Information technology, frequently encountered as the acronym IT, is a field that deals with computing and the transmission of signals through network and computer systems. As a broad field, it encompasses many departments and positions with a plethora of responsibilities. Some IT professionals deal with collecting, transforming, and managing data. Others extract valuable information from those data sets, and another group deals with programming, web development, network infrastructures, and many other things. All the knowledge, techniques, skills, methods, and processes that IT professionals use to create, store, and secure different forms of data, make this field what it is.

Information Technology Job Outlook

Almost all occupations within the information technology field are expected to experience a growth rate above the average of 7,7% of all other occupations, as reported by the Burau of Labor Statistics. With the employment of database administrators and architects expected to grow 8% from 2020 to 2030, computer and information research scientists projected to grow 22%, information security analysts with a 33% growth, and so on, the future of IT jobs seems to be promising.

Still, the growth rate is not the only factor you should consider when contemplating a career in information technology. What do technology jobs pay? What are the highest paying IT jobs? Before making your choice, these are all questions you should have answers to.

Highest Paying Jobs in Information Technology

There are many job positions within information technology, from data science to artificial intelligence, managerial positions, and cloud computing. Where to even begin? Well, fear not, as we are here to make it easier for you. Let us go through 20 of the best-paying jobs in technology and see which one suits your requirements best.

1. Big data engineer

Data engineers are IT professionals who work towards building systems that can gather, manage, and transform raw data into usable information so data scientists and business analysts can then work with it.

Salary

The average salary for a big data engineer in the United States is estimated to be $104,463 per year. You can expect to earn around $75,078 per year for entry-level jobs, whereas once you reach senior positions, you can earn up to $145,351 per year.

2. DevOps engineer

DevOps engineers are responsible for building, testing, and maintaining the company software’s infrastructure and tools in order to ensure a more simplified and speedy software development process.

Salary

The average salary for a DevOps engineer in the United States is estimated to be $105,017 per year. You can expect to earn around $77,038 per year for entry-level jobs, whereas once you reach senior positions, you can earn up to $143,158 per year.

3. Information systems security manager

Information systems security managers help advise and guide their clients regarding examining and assessing networks and security vulnerabilities. They are also responsible for managing various security systems like anti-virus programs, firewalls, encryption, etc.

Salary

The average salary for an information systems security manager in the United States is estimated to be $105,169 per year. You can expect to earn around $70,414 per year for entry-level jobs, whereas once you reach senior positions, you can earn up to $157,077 per year.

4. Mobile applications developer

The work of mobile app developers is primarily focused on designing, programming, testing, and maintaining various applications on mobile devices, tablets, or even laptops.

Salary

The average salary for a mobile applications developer in the United States is estimated to be $89,224 per year. You can expect to earn around $65,131 per year for entry-level jobs, whereas once you reach senior positions, you can earn up to $122,229 per year.

5. Enterprise architect

Enterprise architects are responsible for the maintenance of their clients’ IT networks and services as well as for ensuring that their clients’ business strategies are backed up by suitable technology systems architecture.

Salary

The average salary for an enterprise architect in the United States is estimated to be $150,782 per year. You can expect to earn around $108,652 per year for entry-level jobs, whereas once you reach senior positions, you can earn up to $209,250 per year.

6. Applications architect

Applications architects are responsible for testing, analyzing, and then improving existing software products and applications. In other cases, they design, develop, and then test product prototypes.

Salary

The average salary for an Applications Architect in the United States is estimated to be $129,000 per year. You can expect to earn around $93,431 per year for entry-level jobs, whereas once you reach senior positions, you can earn up to $178,110 per year.

7. Data analyst

As a data analyst, you would be responsible for collecting, organizing, and interpreting data sets. Through the reports they present to the management, other departments can solve various business, finance, or network problems.

Salary

The average salary for a data analyst in the United States is estimated to be $69,517 per year. You can expect to earn around $45,597 per year for entry-level jobs, whereas once you reach senior positions, you can earn up to $105,986 per year.

8. Data architect

Data architects are IT professionals who utilize their knowledge and skills to assess a company’s internal and external data sources. Furthermore, they design the data infrastructure that data management systems use to access information.

Salary

The average salary for a data architect in the United States is estimated to be $118,868 per year. You can expect to earn around $83,368 per year for entry-level jobs, whereas once you reach senior positions, you can earn up to $169,484 per year.

9. Database manager

Database managers are responsible for maintaining databases by creating systems for data storage and designing database recovery procedures and security protocols.

Salary

The average salary for a database manager in the United States is estimated to be $75,550 per year. You can expect to earn around $45,497 per year for entry-level jobs, whereas once you reach senior positions, you can earn up to $125,453 per year.

10. Information security analyst

Information security analysts work to protect computer networks from cyberattacks. They deal with various software, such as firewalls, and plan security measures to ensure the protection of computer networks and systems.

Salary

The average salary for an information security analyst in the United States is estimated to be $99,275 per year. You can expect to earn around $61,624 per year for entry-level jobs, whereas once you reach senior positions, you can earn up to $159,930 per year.

11. Data scientist

Data scientists combine their knowledge in computer science, statistics, and mathematics to analyze and process data, which is then used to gather actionable insights such as patterns and trends.

Salary

The average salary for a data scientist in the United States is estimated to be $117,212 per year. You can expect to earn around $82,339 per year for entry-level jobs, whereas once you reach senior positions, you can earn up to $166,855 per year.

12. Cloud network architect

Cloud network architects are IT professionals responsible for monitoring cloud computing strategies that access a networked pool of shared resources, including cloud adoption plans and cloud application designs.

Salary

The average salary for a cloud network architect in the United States is estimated to be $98,285 per year. You can expect to earn around $56,729 per year for entry-level jobs, whereas once you reach senior positions, you can earn up to $170,281 per year.

13. Cloud network engineer

Cloud network engineers are responsible for various technological tasks related to cloud computing. Specifically, they help handle and support network infrastructures and links between the clients and service providers.

Salary

The average salary for a cloud network engineer in the United States is estimated to be $88,100 per year. You can expect to earn around $52,613 per year for entry-level jobs, whereas once you reach senior positions, you can earn up to $147,521 per year.

14. Senior web developer

Senior web developers are responsible for managing web and database servers and designing, coding, and optimizing websites, paying close attention to the layout and function so they can meet the client’s needs.

Salary

The average salary for a senior web developer in the United States is estimated to be $103,069 per year. You can expect to earn around $73,496 per year for entry-level jobs, whereas once you reach senior positions, you can earn up to $144,541 per year.

15. Site reliability engineer

Site reliability engineers deal with both IT operations and software development, serving as the ideal position that blends skills between IT and developers. These professionals help build software, fix support escalation cases, and conduct post-incident reviews, among other things.

Salary

The average salary for a site reliability engineer in the United States is estimated to be $127,718 per year. You can expect to earn around $87,986 per year for entry-level jobs, whereas once you reach senior positions, you can earn up to $185,393 per year.

16. Systems engineer

Systems engineers manage various projects or systems in many fields, including software, product development, and manufacturing. They are responsible for developing systems that create products from the start to the end.

Salary

The average salary for a systems engineer in the United States is estimated to be $92,380 per year. You can expect to earn around $63,824 per year for entry-level jobs, whereas once you reach senior positions, you can earn up to $133,711 per year.

17. Software engineering manager

Software engineering managers supervise the workers developing new computer software or modifying an existing one. Furthermore, they are responsible for coordinating and planning with other departments concerning marketing so the new software can compete with others and meet clients’ demands.

Salary

The average salary for a software engineering manager in the United States is estimated to be $167,639 per year. You can expect to earn around $125,553 per year for entry-level jobs, whereas once you reach senior positions, you can earn up to $223,832 per year.

18. Artificial intelligence engineer

Artificial intelligence engineers are part of a relatively new field. These professionals must have a thorough understanding of programming and math/statistics and be skilled in working with machine learning techniques to build models that power AI-based applications.

Salary

The average salary for an artificial intelligence engineer in the United States is estimated to be $106,897 per year. You can expect to earn around $73,458 per year for entry-level jobs, whereas once you reach senior positions, you can earn up to $155,559 per year.

19. Blockchain developer

Blockchain developers help design the security and architecture of blockchain systems that record information in such a way that it is difficult to modify or hack the system.

Salary

The average salary for a blockchain developer in the United States is estimated to be $109,766 per year. You can expect to earn around $71,616 per year for entry-level jobs, whereas once you reach senior positions, you can earn up to $168,238 per year.

20. Infrastructure architect

Infrastructure architects use their knowledge of system administration and software development to design and implement information systems within a business’ infrastructure technologies. They coordinate with all the other staff and assist them regarding their network and computer needs.

Salary

The average salary for an infrastructure architect in the United States is estimated to be $127,676 per year. You can expect to earn around $95,307 per year for entry-level jobs, whereas once you reach senior positions, you can earn up to $171,038 per year.

That concludes our picks of the highest paying IT jobs, each profitable and significant in today’s society. Always make sure to pick a career that agrees with your requirements, goals, skills and pays you for the value you bring with your work.