Individuals who hold degrees in information technology (IT) are highly in demand as rapid advances in technology have increased. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projections, employers are seeking IT professionals to fill over 1 million positions between now and 2018. The BLS also projects that job opportunities will be excellent. Computer Networking, Systems and Database Administrators are some of the top IT specializations for IT degree holders. Below is a brief salary overview of what IT degree holders can expect to earn.
IT Professional Salaries Overview
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Computer and Information Research Scientists – conducts research and develop solutions to computer hardware and software problems. The national salary estimates for this IT occupation are roughly $49.50 an hour and $103,150 as an annual wage.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in this field are Computer Systems Design and Related Services with $48.63 an hour and $101,150 annual wage and Federal Executive Branch that pay $49.07 an hour and $102, 070 as an annual wage. Industries that have high employment concentrations include Software Publishers that pay an average of $57.67 an hour and $119,950 as the annual salary. The top paying industry for this IT occupation is Other Information Services with a $59.02 hourly mean wage and $122,770 annual mean wage.
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Computer Systems Analysts – analyze science, engineering, business and other data processing problems to improve computer systems. The national salary estimates for this IT occupation are roughly $36.06 an hour and $81,250 as a median annual wage. The industry with the highest level of employment and highest employment concentration is Computer Systems Design and Related Services with a $41.47 hourly mean wage and a $86,260 annual mean wage.
The top paying industry in this IT occupation is Support Activities for mining with $64.23 hourly mean wage and $133,590 as the annual mean wage. Another top paying industry is Oil and Gas extraction with $52.06 hourly mean wage and $108,290 as the annual mean wage.
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Computer Programmers – these IT professionals create modify and test code, forms and scripts for computer applications to run smoothly and develop computer programs to store, locate and retrieve documents, data and information.
The national salary estimates for this IT occupation are approximately $36.01 mean hourly wage and $74,900 as the annual mean wage. The industry with the highest level of employment and highest employment concentration is Computer Systems Design and Related Services with a $36.40 hourly mean wage and $75,720 as the annual mean wage. The top paying industry for this IT occupation is Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing with an hourly mean wage of $50.84 and an annual mean wage of $105,750.
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Network and Computer Systems Administrators – Install, configure and support computer networks and Internet systems. The national salary estimates for this IT occupation are approximately $34.71 as the hourly mean wage and an annual mean wage of $72,200.
The industry with the highest level of employment is Computer Systems Design and Related Services with an hourly mean wage of $37.29 and an annual mean wage of $77,560. The industry with the highest level of employment for this occupation is Data Processing, Hosting and Related Services with an hourly mean wage of $35.92 and an annual mean wage of $74,710. The top paying industry is Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing with an hourly mean wage of $45.15 and an annual mean wage of $93,910.
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Database Administrators – these IT professionals plans, test, coordinate and implement computer databases and safeguard against possible attacks. The national salary estimates for this IT occupation is around $36.41 for the average hourly wage and the average annual wage around $75,730.
The industry with the highest level of employment is Computer Systems Design and Related Services with an hourly mean wage of $40.52 and an annual mean average of $84,280. The industry with the highest level of employment for this occupation is Data Processing, Hosting and Related Services with an hourly mean wage of $36.59 and an annual mean wage of $76,120.
The top paying industry is Natural Gas Distribution with an hourly mean wage of $47.11 and an annual salary wage of $97,990. The next high paying industry is Rail Transportation with an hourly average wage of $46.15 and an average annual salary of $97,990.
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Web Developers, Security Analysts and Computer Network Architects – design, set computer security measures and implement computer networks. The national salary estimates for this IT occupation is close to $38.16 for the hourly mean wage and $79,370 for the average annual salary.
The industry with the highest level of employment is Computer Systems Design and Related Services with an hourly mean wage of $39.68 and an average annual salary is $82,530. The industry with the highest level of employment for this occupation is Satellite Telecommunications with an hourly mean salary of $42.79 and an average annual salary of $88,990.
The top paying industry is Architectural and Structural Metals Manufacturing with an average hourly wage of $54.17 and an average annual salary of $112, 670. The next top paying industry is Rail Transportation with an hourly mean wage of $50.51 and an annual mean salary of $105, 060.
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Computer Support Specialists – these IT professionals provide technical support for computer hardware and software problems to computer users by answering questions and resolving computer-issue problems for clients in person, by telephone or by electronic mail. The national salary estimates for this IT occupation for the average hourly wage is near $24.00 and the annual mean wage is close to $49, 930.
The industry with the highest level of employment is Computer Systems Design and Related Services with an hourly mean wage of $24.75 and an average annual salary of $51,490. The industry with the highest level of employment for this occupation is Software Publishers with an hourly median wage of $26.97 and an annual mean salary of $56,100. The top paying industry is Other Investment Pools and Funds with an hourly mean wage of $34.81 and an annual mean wage of $72,400.
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Software Developers, Applications – develop, create, analyze, supervises and modify general applications on software and specialized utility programs. The national salary estimates for this IT occupation for the average hourly wage is approximately $43.47 for the mean hourly wage and $90,410 for the average annual salary.
The industry with the highest level of employment is Computer Systems Design and Related Services with an hourly mean wage of $43.86 and a average annual salary of $91,240. The industry with the highest level of employment for this occupation is Software Publishers with an hourly mean wage of $45.65 and a mean annual wage of $94,950.
The top paying industry is Metal and Mineral (except Petroleum) Merchant Wholesalers is $54.82 for the mean hourly wage and the average annual salary is $114, 020. The next top paying industry is Lessors of Real Estate with a mean hourly salary of $54.82 and average annual wage of $105,490.
