2020 IT Salary Survey: What are the higher-paying positions?

According to data from research and consulting firm IDC, the global information technology industry is expected to reach US$5.2 trillion in 2020. The rapid development of the Internet industry has led to a continuous increase in employment and salary in the IT industry. However, the intensity of work, industry competition, pressure of layoffs and the outbreak of the epidemic have made the road to salary for IT personnel still bumpy.

CompTIA predicts that the global IT industry will grow at a rate of 3.7% by 2020

US IT Industry Market

Between January 2019 and January 2020, the average total compensation for IT professionals in the U.S. increased 4.9% from $90,116 to $94,535. The IT job market now includes 3.5 million people. These are high-paying positions that are vital to the U.S. economy.

According to survey data, the following positions are in high demand:

The 10 highest paying jobs

IT job market size

Data collected by Janco Associates as of January 2020

Specific salary range in the IT industry

Robert Half Technology, based in Menlo Park, California, breaks down U.S. IT industry salaries into the following categories, with some key positions in each category.

1. Executives

Includes executives at the director level and above, including chief information officers (CIOs), chief technology officers (CTOs), chief security officers (CSOs), vice presidents of information technology and technology directors.

The average annual salary of these executives is:

• CIO – $174,750 to $298,750 per year
• CTO – $152,250 to $266,000 per year
• CSO – $155,250 to $278,000 per year
• Vice President of IT – $143,750 to $239,250 per year
• Technical Director – $123,750 to $205,500 per year

2. Software and application development

This category has 20 different job titles, the largest number of job titles in the study, including managers, scrum masters, engineers, and developers, among others.

Average annual salary:

• Mobile App Development – ​​$121,750 to $206,500 per year
• Application Architect – $117,500 to $197,250 per year
• Development Manager – $110,500 to $188,750 per year
• Advanced Application Development – ​​$107,000 to $183,250 per year
• Software Engineer – $105,750 to $178,000 per year

3. Web Development

This category includes five positions related to developing and managing a company's website, including e-commerce analysis, etc. Web developer salaries range from $123,000 for a senior web developer to $81,750 for a front-end web developer.

Average annual salary for employees in corporate web development departments:

• Senior Web Development – ​​$102,750 to $174,000 per year
• Web Development – ​​$86,000 to $146,250 per year
• E-commerce Analyst – $85,250 to $142,250 per year
• Front-end Web Development – ​​$67,000 to $132,000 per year
• Network Administrator – $70,000 to $119,500 per year

4. Consulting and system integration

This category includes only four positions, from director to staff counselor, with annual salaries ranging from $71,250 for staff counselor to $145,000 for director.

Average annual salary for consulting and system integration employees:

• Director – $121,000 to $206,000 per year
• Manager – $97,250 to $164,500 per year
• Senior Consultant – $85,250 to $125,000 per year
• Staff Consultant – $60,000 to $92,000 per year

5. Data and database management

This category includes 12 different specialties covering a very wide range of fields, including some of the hottest technologies, including big data-related positions: data science, architecture and modeling, AI and business intelligence, etc. Salaries for data and database management employees range from $163,250 for big data engineers to $78,500 for data reporting analysts.

Average annual salary:

• Big Data Engineer – $130,000 to $222,000 per year
• AI Architect – $120,250 to $189,000 per year
• Data Architect – $119,750 to $193,500 per year
• Database Administrator – $111,250 to $186,500 per year
• Database Developer – $101,250 to $172,750 per year

6. Quality Assurance and Testing

There are only four positions in this category, and it is also the lowest in terms of annual salary.

Average annual salary:

• QA and Test Managers – $88,750 to $143,250 per year
• Automation Quality Assurance Engineer – $74,250 to $124,000 per year
• QA assistant or analyst – $64,000 to $109,000 per year
• QA Engineer – $63,750 to $109,000 per year

7. Internet and telecommunications

The category actually goes beyond networking and telecommunications to cover a wide range of cloud-centric networking specialties, including cloud architects, managers, engineers and administrators, with annual salaries for networking and telecommunications-focused employees ranging from $141,750 for a network cloud architect to $64,500 for a NOC (network operations center) technician.

Average annual salary for network and telecommunications personnel:

• Network/Cloud Architect – $117,500 to $196,250 per year
• Wireless Networking/Cloud Engineer – $105,000 to $178,750 per year
• Network/Cloud Management – ​​$97,500 to $169,750 per year
• Network/Cloud Engineer – $94,750 to $159,000 per year
• Telecommunications Manager – $83,750 to $140,000 per year

8. Cybersecurity

This category includes six different positions, from administrators to engineers to information systems managers, with annual salaries ranging from $143,250 for information systems security managers to $113,500 for network security administrators.

Overall, the average annual salary for employees entering the security field is:

• Information Systems Security Manager – $119,500 to $205,750 per year
• Security Architect – $116,250 to $181,500 per year
• Data Security Analyst – $108,250 to $183,500 per year
• Cybersecurity Engineer – $101,500 to $168,500 per year
• Systems security engineer – $96,500 to $162,750 per year
• Network Security Administrator – $94,750 to $160,500 per year

9. Technical Services

This category includes managers, engineers, analysts, technicians, help desk support and operators, all of whom focus on ensuring that a company's IT systems are able to provide the services the business and its customers need. Technical service employee salaries range from $130,250 for managers to $40,250 for PC technicians.

Average annual salary:

• Manager – $107,500 to $185,250 per year
• Site reliability engineer – $99,750 to $197,000 per year
• IT Auditor – $95,250 to $162,500 per year
• Business Continuity Analyst – $89,750 to $152,750 per year
• Systems Engineer – $88,750 to $148,000 per year

The salary ranges determined by the Robert Half Technology survey represent averages across the U.S. However, there are regional differences in salaries.

Six U.S. cities with above-average IT salaries:

• San Francisco (+41%)
• New York (+40.5)
• San Jose, California (+40%)
• Boston, Massachusetts and Oakland, California (+34%)
• Washington, D.C. (+33%)

Here are six U.S. cities where IT salaries are below average:

• El Paso, Texas (-28%)
• Youngstown, Ohio (-24%)
• Duluth, Minnesota (-20.4%)
• Kalamazoo, Michigan (-20%)
• Macon, Geo. and Canton, Ohio (-18%)

In 2020, what do you think are the high-paying jobs in China?