Many tech occupations experienced a pay bump during the COVID-19 pandemic, a dynamic driven by rising costs for many goods and services partnered with a competitive talent market.
Overall, the average annual wage for a tech worker grew 6.9 percent from 2020 to 2021 to $104,566, according to a survey of 7,215 people at the tech career website Dice.com.
Here are the top 10 highest-paying tech occupations, with their average annual salary and percentage increase or decrease in that period:
1. IT management (CEO, CIO, CTO, VP, director): $151,983 (6 percent increase)
2. Systems architect: $147,901 (5.1 percent increase)
3. Cloud architect/engineer: $140,471 (3 percent increase)
4. Cybersecurity engineer/architect: $135,059 (0.5 percent increase)
5. *Data architect: $128,835 (3.2 percent decrease)
6. Business/management consultant: $126,531 (4 percent increase)
7. Program analyst/manager: $123,755 (0.8 percent increase)
8. *Data scientist: $120,650 (0.6 percent increase)
9. Product manager: $120,323 (0.2 percent decrease)
10. Software developer: $120,204 (8 percent increase)
Note: Occupations noted with an asterisk had a sample size of fewer than 100 respondents, so therefore they are not statistically valid but are presented for continuity purposes, according to Dice.com.