IT Careers
For
the last several years, people have heard that the Technology industry is
growing faster with each passing year, and it is becoming a very profitable
career. When kids, teenagers, and even adults think about their future careers,
there are always those thoughts of being an astronaut, a police officer, or a
firefighter, but more and more thoughts and career goals incorporate
Information Technology (IT). When people consider a job in IT, they often
wonder how many careers there are to choose from within the IT industry. Many
people know about computer programming, software development, or cyber security
but may not realize that there are multiple avenues within each. Another
interesting thing to know and learn is how much pay a person can receive in an
IT career. Learning what the average salary is and what jobs pay the most and
least. Along with salary comes the question of what level of education is
needed to earn the average or highest-paying IT jobs. Many people have a knack
for IT and can learn it quickly and fast, and some people need to go to several
years of college to be proficient. Finding out the level of wages associated
with the level of schooling required is often an area of interest, especially
for those not fond of extra schooling beyond a bachelor's, associate's, or even
high school.
Looking
back several decades, there weren’t too many jobs pertaining to IT, especially
since desk or personal computers weren’t common until the late 1970s.
Now just about every business has some sort of computer network. There are
roughly 3.8 million available jobs within the IT sector (Mearian & Gruman,
2023). These jobs range from software developers to IT support specialists to
telecommunications. Any business that utilizes computers needs
some sort of IT specialist to maintain, troubleshoot, and manage computer
systems. Many times, when people are searching for a career in IT or any job
for that matter, they are looking for a high-paying job, so what do IT jobs
pay?
As
stated above, there are many jobs to choose from within the IT industry, and
with these multiple choices come great salaries. The Bureau of Labor Statistics
stated in 2021 that the average salary for IT professionals is around $97K,
while the average salary for all other occupations outside of IT is $45K (Coursera,
2021). Since $97K is the average, there are IT jobs that pay less such as entry-level jobs that oftentimes require little to no education or prior experience.
Jobs such as Help Desk Technicians have a salary of $46K, or an IT technician with a salary of $48K (Coursera, 2022). IT jobs pay a lot, with upwards of $118K for Network/cloud Engineers, $127K for an Information
Systems Security Manager, or even $166K for a Security Architect (Coursera, 2021).
There are many other IT jobs out there
that pay over $100K. It is important to know where to find them and have the proper experience level.
As stated above, some
IT jobs don’t require any experience or education. Still, to progress within the company or be more competitive when applying for a new job, education will help you stand out and beat the competition. It is a myth
that you need a degree to work in the IT field. In fact, according
to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), close to a quarter of IT workers
in the U.S. do not have any degree (CompTIA, n.d.). Often, requirements for
a job just state that a high school diploma or GED and some type of experience
are required. Among the statistics from BLS, close to 50% of jobs do not require
a bachelor’s degree, and from job postings in 2017, an IT position not needing
a bachelor's degree could start at a salary of $83K. Getting certifications in programming or other areas would be a good idea if you don't want to go back to school. Sometimes when looking for a career in IT, knowing and
understanding how to use the major hardware and software components of a modern
computer system is all you may need to get the job. With any job, experience will take you much further than someone without it. Staying up to
date with current technology is important, especially if you want to find any
job, let alone an IT job.
-Matthew
References
CompTIA.
(n.d.). Get into IT without a degree. Default.
https://www.comptia.org/career-change/switching-career-path/get-into-it-without-a-degree
Coursera. (2021, June 5). IT salary
overview: How much can you make?
https://www.coursera.org/articles/it-salaries-roles-location-and-experience
Coursera.
(2022, November 1). 10 Entry-Level IT Jobs and What You Can Do to Get Hired.
Mearian,
L., & Gruman, G. (2023, January 6). How many jobs are available in
technology?
Computerworld. https://www.computerworld.com/article/3542681/how-many-jobs-are-available-in-technology.html
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