Top 10 Best Paying Tech Jobs

Tech jobs have seen a growth rate over the last few years that is unmatched by any other career. The world is fast changing, thanks to technology, and with this change has arisen the need for people who know their way about technology; such that now many high paying tech career options are available.

From a local business looking to have an online presence to increase its reach and establish credibility with generation Z, to new services that rely solely on online mediums for their business, tech specialists are in high demand. Basically these specialists can be anyone from application developers to program managers. Due to the increased demand for highly skilled IT specialists, salaries for tech have gone up.

Afterwards in only the first three months of 2020, there was a 73.6% increase in job postings for WordPress developers on Indeed. And while there was an overall 15% decrease in job postings across the United States, tech job postings only went down by about 5%. Afterwards, Indeed analyzed the ten most in demand tech jobs and found out that these jobs offer an average salary of $113,855.

Let us go through some of the best paying tech jobs below.

1. Software Engineering Manager

Software Engineering Management is one of the highest paying jobs.

According to Forbes, from January to March 2020, the average annual salary for software engineering managers on Indeed was $144,793. Afterwards, It was also the most-in demand job position on Indeed. Software engineering managers are responsible for ensuring the smooth functioning of the whole process involved in creating a new software program otherwise modifying existing software.

They need about five years’ experience as a software engineer otherwise developer, which ensures a close understanding of the technical aspects of programming that enables them to oversee a team of programmers efficiently. Along with managing developers and meeting deadlines, they need to communicate and coordinate with teams in other departments, the clients, and with senior management.

2. SAP ABAP Developer

Gone are the days when software engineers and developers were earning lots of money. Today, while employers still require lots of software engineers for their projects, they pay more money to people in specialized tech jobs. SAP ABAP developers make an annual average of $139,290. Their job entails programming software using the ABAP programming language.

SAP ABAP developers connect business and software development by simplifying the development of business applications within the landscape of SAP. They communicate with clients to provide suitable software. Ensure that the software is compatible with different computers, and communicate regularly with other developers and employees within the company.

3. Senior Technical Architect

Senior technical architects are responsible for managing multiple projects within given deadlines and anticipating and managing changes effectively in a rapidly evolving tech and business world. They oversee all stages of a project, from architecture and design to development and implementation.

Senior technical architects make use of hard skills from their time working as technical architects to oversee projects efficiently. They manage the migration of old software applications to new SOA based applications. To enhance user experience on technology, they undertake tasks such as evaluation, RFP, procurement coordination, and installation. The average salary of senior technical architects on Indeed in 2020 is $131,527.

4. Enterprise Architect

According to data provided by Glassdoor, enterprise architects earn a median base salary of $122,585, and there are over 1500 job openings for this position. Enterprise architects are responsible for handling the interactions between the IT department of a company and its business side. They ensure that the business goals of an enterprise are supported by its IT strategy.

Enterprise architects oversee, improve, and upgrade enterprise services, hardware, and software. They keep an eye out for potential software, hardware, otherwise services that could ease enterprise operations and business processes. Using strong analytical and communication skills, they work across the company, determining and catering to the needs of various business processes.

5. Software Development Manager

Software development managers oversee the lower level software developers. They plan, direct, and coordinate all the activities related to writing software. Software development managers make a median base salary of $109,809

With previous experience as software developers. They are familiar with the technical issues that come up in programming, and the policies and procedures of development. Thus, they are able to effectively guide and manage the team of software developers working for them. They might be responsible for developer teams of specific projects otherwise a company. 

6. Applications Development Manager

Application development managers plan, coordinate, and supervise everything related to a company’s software applications to ensure that the business runs smoothly. They have a broad understanding of application development and business operations and use that to increase a company’s productivity and profitability.

Application development managers are responsible for a team of app developers who design, develop, and monitor a company’s software application. They maintain, support, and upgrade existing software to help the business provide its services. With businesses increasingly launching mobile applications for their services, the demand for application development managers will also increase. An application development manager can make a mean base salary of $107,735.

7. IT Program Manager

An IT program manager is responsible for overseeing and coordinating between teams of information system professionals working on various projects and products. They handle all technical aspects of a project’s journey for a company. Including initiating a program, tracking its progress, and providing support when issues arise. IT program managers make a median base salary of $104,454.

Their responsibilities include creating timelines and schedules for the project and individual team members, and also ensuring that deadlines are met. Program managers are differentiated from project managers in that they not only oversee the technical aspects of projects. But also use business management skills to achieve a particular organizational goal.

8. Data Scientist

According to data released by LinkedIn, job postings for data scientists are among the best-paying tech jobs, with the average base salary standing at $130,000 in 2019. A data scientist’s job entails gathering and analyzing large chunks of structured otherwise unstructured data, combining skills learned in statistics, computer science, and mathematics.

After analyzing, processing, and modeling data, data scientists interpret the results to provide actionable plans for organizations. Expert at technology and social science, they use their analytical skills to find trends and find solutions to business challenges. Data scientists analyze and manage data that doesn’t neatly fit into a database. This unstructured data can come from sources such as social media feeds, smart devices, and emails. Learn how to become a Data Scientist here.

9. Site Reliability Engineer

Site reliability engineering emerged at Google in 2003 when Google asked a team of software engineers to make its pages more reliable and scalable. These practices were so beneficial that they were soon adopted by sites like Amazon and Netflix, and eventually resulted in the birth of a new field.

Site reliability engineering applies aspects of software engineering to infrastructure and operations problems. To create software systems that are highly reliable, scalable, and efficient. Site reliability engineers use their software expertise to automate operations. So that work that was traditionally done by an operations team is now done by software. They make a median base salary of $200,000.

The ultimate aim for SREs, as Google puts it, is to automate everything and work themselves out of a job. This is done by creating self-service tools for groups of users that require those services. Example, automatic provisioning of logs and statistics.

10. Product Designer

Product designer prototyping mobile app on paper.

Product designers are mostly responsible for the user experience of a product, which is why they are also called user interface designers. Their job is to ensure a product translates into a functional experience for the user. The skills required for this position include user interface design, graphic design, user experience (UX), product design, and adobe photoshop. We have resources which cover how you can become a UX designer, a Web Designer here, otherwise a Product Manager here.

Product designers make use of their technical knowledge and design skills to improve existing products, make it possible to produce them at lower costs, otherwise design entirely new products. A career in product designing allows individuals to merge their creative and artistic side with engineering to design innovative products. The median base salary for product designers is $121,500.

How can you benefit from the opportunities in the world of tech?

In today’s digitalized world, any individual with a laptop. A stable internet connection, and the right set of qualifications can land a high paying tech job. But the trick to getting the right job is first developing a set of qualifications that not only makes you eligible for a position but makes you the perfect fit for that job.

Various online degrees and courses, both certified and uncertified. Make it possible to gain the required skill set that employers are looking for. Afterwards from Coursera and Udemy to Lynda and Khan Academy. Many sites offer both free and paid online courses in your desired field. The unit Work in Tech on Khan Academy provides a comprehensive and free introduction to tech careers.

Coursera offers a course on site reliability engineering titled Site Reliability Engineering: Measuring and Managing Reliability. Offered by Google Cloud, the course is free. Courses to become a data analyst can similarly be found on Coursera with the titles Introduction to Data Science Specialization and IBM Data Analyst Professional Certificate.

To become an SAP ABAP developer, you can enroll in Udemy’s SAP ABAP Programming for Beginners. Online Training otherwise SAP ABAP Certification Training. If you are interested in working as an IT Program Manager, check out Lynda’s Become a Technical Program Manager course.

No matter which high paying tech career interests you. You can find an online course that will equip you with the exact skills needed to land that dream job!

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