In today’s evolving digital landscape, practically every industry has a technical element—from finance, education, retail, aerospace, healthcare, consulting, and more. This is positive news for aspiring individuals in the technology and programming fields, as their expertise is in high demand. It also means they are no longer pigeonholed to a traditional career path in tech and can explore in-house job opportunities beyond Big Tech companies, such as Google, Meta, Apple and Amazon.
According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in computer and information technology professions is anticipated to grow much faster than the average for all occupations within the next decade. “About 377,500 openings are projected each year, on average, in these occupations due to employment growth and the need to replace workers who leave the occupations permanently,” the U.S. Department of Labor reported.
How To Get A Tech Job
While an undergraduate degree in computer science and related disciplines is the typical education track for technologists, some professionals are purely self-taught. Resources available to aspiring techies are available through bootcamps and certification programs.
When interviewing for a job within the tech industry, you will likely be asked to undergo a “technical interview.” This functions similarly to a formal interview in other sectors, but candidates must be able to demonstrate their abilities through a series of skills assessments, such as programming, coding, engineering and computer-based competencies.
List Of Top-Paying Tech Jobs
Compensation is crucial in electing a career path or choosing between job offers. Below is a ranking of the 10 most well-paying tech jobs, according to Indeed salary data, as well as the expected duties, educational requirements and relevant skills employers seek.
Please note that the base salary is only one aspect of a technologist’s remuneration. Bonus, equity and benefits may vary from company to company, which can significantly impact the total compensation.
10. Full-Stack Developer
- Average Base Salary: $126,102
- Job Summary: Full-stack developers build the front-end (client side) and back-end (server side) elements of websites, mobile applications and other computer programs.
- Qualifications: Most full-stack developers have a minimum bachelor’s degree in computer science, software development, or software engineering. These web developers have the generalist expertise to create an entire web application and are responsible for the whole software lifecycle.
- Relevant Skills: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, MySQL, SQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Oracle, Git, Github, Subversion, AWS, Heroku, Azure, APIs, C, C++, Lisp, Python
9. Data Engineer
- Average Base Salary: $126,737
- Job Summary: Data engineers build systems that support data transformation, data structures, metadata, dependency and workload management. These processes collect, manage and convert raw data into usable information for data scientists and business analysts to interpret. Organizations can leverage this data to evaluate and optimize their performance.
- Qualifications: Data engineers need at least a bachelor’s in computer science, engineering or a related field. They may also have certifications from company courses like IBM, Microsoft and Google. Data engineering isn’t usually an entry-level role. Instead, many data engineers start as software engineers or business intelligence analysts. As you advance your career, you may move into managerial positions or become a data architect, solutions architect or machine learning engineer.
- Relevant Skills: SQL, NoSQL, PostgreSQL, Python, Redshift, Panoply, Hadoop, Spark, AWS, Azure, Kafka
8. Mobile Developer
- Average Base Salary: $127,409
- Job Summary: A mobile applications developer creates, maintains and implements the source code for mobile software applications. Mobile developers must also be able to develop apps, troubleshoot code and patch bugs for both Android and iOS.
- Qualifications: Most mobile applications developers have a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in computer science, management information systems, software engineering, information technology or other related disciplines. In addition, you might be asked to obtain one or more certifications. Some employers prefer to hire mobile developers with at least a few years of experience in programming, development or another IT-related field.
- Relevant Skills: Linux/Unix, Python, Perl, Shell Scripting, Java, C#, Swift, Oracle, Apache, iOS, ABAP, Drupal, HTML, LAMP Stack, Ruby On Rails, UI, Cybersecurity, Product Management, IoT, Agile, Lisp
7. Network Architect
- Average Base Salary: $127,467
- Job Summary: A computer network architect designs and implements computer and information networks, including local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs) and intranets. They provide input on companywide security, hardware and software decisions. Network architects plan and execute the layout of cables and other required components for network systems.
- Qualifications: A computer network architect must have a bachelor’s degree in computer science, information systems, information technology or related fields. This will give the candidate an in-depth understanding of network security and database design. They typically have a good understanding of both technical and business skills. Having a master’s degree in business administration could be advantageous. There are also certification courses such as CCENT, CompTia A+ certification and VMware Certified Professional that can help you land a computer network architect job.
- Relevant Skills: Linux, UNIX, Python, Perl, JSON, Ansible, Puppet
6. Data Warehouse Architect
- Average Base Salary: $131,479
- Job Summary: Data warehouse architects are responsible for developing physical and logical data models, preparing designs for database systems and developing and maintaining various database tools and scripts. They define the scope of projects and choose which tools to use to complete it. Data warehouse architects may also define metadata standards for the data warehouse, evaluate all proposal requests and provide support to all data warehouse initiatives.
- Qualifications: Data warehouse architects typically need to have a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in information technology, computer science or electronics engineering and a few years of practical experience as a database administrator, solutions architect, software developer or some other related position. You can earn optional qualifications, such as the Certified Data Management Professional (CDMP), to make you a more valuable candidate in the job market.
- Relevant Skills: SQL, PL/SQL, Python, Cobol, JCL, SQL Server, MySQL, Oracle, DB2, Netezza, IMS DB, Git, TFS, JIRA, CRM, ERP, SCM
5. Software Architect
- Average Base Salary: $137,430
- Job Summary: A software architect is responsible for high-level design choices when it comes to creating software. They determine the software, development tools and platforms that developers will use. They also might set coding standards that others will follow.
- Qualifications: Earning a bachelor’s degree in one of the following areas can provide you with the fundamental training required to become a software architect: computer science, software engineering, software technology or information technology. This isn’t an entry-level job but one reserved for someone with a lot of deep technical knowledge who rose through the ranks as a software engineer. Due to the complexity of the role and its required expertise, some companies have trouble filling software architect roles. Some smaller companies may include architect duties in their lead developer role, which could be an excellent way to gain experience and acquire some of these responsibilities.
- Relevant Skills: UML, Java, JavaScript, C, Ruby, Python, .NET, APIs, AWS, Agile, Ansible, Azure, C#, CI/CD, Cloud Architecture, Cloud Infrastructure
4. Enterprise Architect
- Average Base Salary: $142,567
- Job Summary: Enterprise architects are key in establishing an organization’s IT infrastructure and maintaining and updating IT hardware, software and services to support set enterprise goals. Enterprise architects create business architecture models and develop methods for compliance architecture, such as metadata management, data storage and change control.
- Qualifications: Enterprise architect jobs typically require an undergraduate degree in computer science or a related field and five to 10 years of IT experience before you can step into the role. Depending on the company, you may also need a master’s degree.
- Relevant Skills: Cloud, Infrastructure, Roadmap, AWS, Java, Cloud Computing, Governance, Azure, Digital Transformation, Project Management, ITIL, Pre Sales
3. Site Reliability Engineer
- Average Base Salary: $155,517
- Job Summary: A site reliability engineer applies software tools to automate IT infrastructure, such as system management and application monitoring. They develop software and systems that increase site reliability and performance amidst frequent updates from the development teams. They manage large systems through code, which is more scalable and sustainable for system administrators managing thousands or hundreds of thousands of machines.
- Qualifications: Site reliability engineers typically hold at least a bachelor’s degree in IT, computer science, engineering or a related field. These professionals should have a background as a system administrator, DevOps or IT operations focusing on software development skills.
- Relevant Skills: APIs, AWS, Ansible, Azure, Bash, CI/CD, Cloud infrastructure, Computer Networking, DevOps, Distributed Systems
2. Back-End Developer
- Average Base Salary: $158,984
- Job Summary: Back-end developers design, build and maintain the back end of web and mobile-based applications. The back end includes everything from the servers, application code and databases. They make sure the back end performs quickly and responsively to front-end user requests.
- Qualifications: While employers may prefer candidates with at least a bachelor’s degree in computer science or a related field, you don’t require an undergraduate degree to become a back-end developer. The best way to start down the path to becoming a backend developer is to learn a programming or scripting language.
- Relevant Skills: Python, PHP, JavaScript, Ruby, Java, C#, Laravel, Django, Spring, Ruby on Rails, Meteor, Node.js, MongoDB, MySQL, Oracle, Apache, NGINX, Lighttpd, Microsoft IIS
1. Software Engineering Manager
- Average Base Salary: $161,477
- Job Summary: A software engineering manager oversees (hires, trains and mentors) a team of software developers by providing direction, delegating tasks and monitoring regulations and goals. Software engineering managers also build and maintain relationships with cross-functional teams, stakeholders and clients.
- Qualifications: Software engineering managers typically have a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in computer science or a similar field and considerable work experience (at least five years) as a software engineer. They must deeply understand software engineering, coding and the developmental process.
- Relevant Skills: APIs, AWS, Agile, C, C#, C++, CI/CD, Design Patterns, DevOps, Distributed Systems, Leadership and Management
Source: Forbes
