There are many reasons why working in tech is so attractive to individuals with the necessary skills. The risks in tech start-ups are certainly high, which may seem like a disadvantage to those who seek job security, but for the entrepreneurial types who tend to be attracted to early-stage companies, this can also be seen as a plus. The benefit of a high level of risk is that there’s also the potential for eye watering levels of remuneration. But it’s not only early-stage companies where tech employees can earn huge sums.
The good news is, tech professionals are some of the highest paid workers in the US, with the annual salary survey by Dice showing that tech salaries have risen by an average of 7.7 percent, to $96,370, over the last year. A study by ecardshack shows that the pay scale for popular tech jobs does vary from location to location, but regardless of where they are based, American-based tech employees can expect to earn handsomely over the course of their career.
What roles saw the biggest salary rises?
Storage and networking professionals saw their wages rise the most over the last year, particularly those working in the hospitality, manufacturing, banking and consumer products industries. With many organisations migrating from hardware-based storage to cloud solutions and the explosion of IoT technologies, the skills demand in this area has grown, resulting in a significant increase in salaries.
How do salaries compare by company?
Silicon Valley tech companies certainly have a reputation for creating billionaires, but how much can the average tech employee expect to earn? A new study by PayScale has found that even employees at an early stage in their career can earn six figures if they work for one of the country’s biggest tech companies. That’s more than twice the average American household income of just over $50,000.
The study found that the best company to work for in the beginning of a tech career is Facebook, with employees with less than five years’ experience earning a median salary of $116,800. However, if you have more than ten years’ experience, a median salary of $159,600 makes LinkedIn the most financially rewarding place to work.
The five highest paying employers for early level (less than five years’ experience) employees are:
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Facebook - $116,800
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LinkedIn - $110,800
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Google - $106,900
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Microsoft - $102,500
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Qualcomm - $94,400
How do popular job roles compare?
While the biggest pay rises have been seen by those working in storage and networking, the LinkedIn salary comparison has shed some light on the salaries those can expect in some of the most popular tech job roles. That includes:
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Solutions architect - $124,000
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Data scientist - $106,000
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Hardware engineer - $105,000
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Data engineer - $100,000
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Software engineer - $92,000
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UX designer – $83,000
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Electrical engineer - $80,000
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QA manager - $70,000
Clearly, highly skilled technology professionals remain in high demand and tech sector employees will be happy to hear that there’s no sign of these salary rises slowing anytime soon.
