IT jobs

The 10 Highest Paying Tech Jobs in the U.S.

February 8, 2024 by INNOVA People Leave a Comment

Technology has become an integral part of every industry in today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape. This has created a high demand for skilled professionals in the technology and programming fields. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts significant growth in computer and information technology professions, faster than the average for all occupations within the next decade,

“About 377,500 openings are projected each year, on average, in these occupations due to employment growth and the need to replace workers who leave the occupations permanently.”

Whether you have a formal degree or are self-taught, various resources are available to help you pursue a tech career. When applying for a position in the technology sector, you can expect to participate in a “technical interview.” While it shares similarities with formal interviews in other industries, this type of interview requires candidates to showcase their skills through various assessments, including programming, coding, engineering, and computer-based competencies.

We love a good list, so here’s a list of the top 10 highest-paying tech jobs in the U.S. based on salary data from Indeed. Along with the average base salary, we’ll explore the job summaries, educational requirements, and relevant skills employers seek.

10. Full-Stack Developer

Average Base Salary: $126,102

Job Summary: Full-stack developers are responsible for building the frontend (client side) and backend (server side) elements of websites, mobile applications, and other computer programs. They possess the skills to handle the entire software lifecycle.

Qualifications: Most full-stack developers have at least a bachelor’s degree in computer science, software development, or software engineering.

Relevant Skills: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, MySQL, SQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Oracle, Git, GitHub, Subversion, AWS, Heroku, Azure, APIs, C, C++, Lisp, Python.

9. Data Engineer

Average Base Salary: $126,737

Job Summary: Data engineers specialize in building systems that support data transformation, data structures, metadata, and workload management. They collect, manage, and convert raw data into usable information for data scientists and business analysts.

Qualifications: Data engineers typically have a bachelor’s degree in computer science, engineering, or a related field.

Relevant Skills: SQL, NoSQL, PostgreSQL, Python, Redshift, Panoply, Hadoop, Spark, AWS, Azure, Kafka.

8. Mobile Developer

Average Base Salary: $127,409

Job Summary: Mobile developers create, maintain, and implement the source code for mobile software applications. They work on Android and iOS platforms and are skilled in troubleshooting and patching bugs.

Qualifications: Most mobile developers have a bachelor’s degree in computer science or related disciplines and experience in programming or development.

Relevant Skills: Linux/Unix, Python, Perl, Shell Scripting, Java, C#, Swift, Oracle, Apache, iOS, ABAP, Drupal, HTML, LAMP Stack, Ruby On Rails, UI, Cybersecurity, Product Management, IoT, Agile, Lisp.

7. Network Architect

Average Base Salary: $127,467

Job Summary: Network architects design and implement computer and information networks, including LANs, WANs, and intranets. They provide input on security, hardware, and software decisions and plan and execute network system layouts.

Qualifications: Network architects typically hold a bachelor’s degree in computer science, information systems, or a related field.

Relevant Skills: Linux, UNIX, Python, Perl, JSON, Ansible, Puppet.

6. Data Warehouse Architect

Average Base Salary: $131,479

Job Summary: Data warehouse architects develop physical and logical data models, design database systems, and maintain database tools and scripts. They define project scopes, choose appropriate tools, and establish metadata standards.

Qualifications: Data warehouse architects usually have a bachelor’s degree in information technology, computer science, or electronics engineering, along with practical experience in relevant positions.

Relevant Skills: SQL, PL/SQL, Python, Cobol, JCL, SQL Server, MySQL, Oracle, DB2, Netezza, IMS DB, Git, TFS, JIRA, CRM, ERP, SCM.

5. Software Architect

Average Base Salary: $137,430

Job Summary: Software architects make high-level design choices for software development. They determine the software, tools, and platforms to use and often set coding standards for other developers.

Qualifications: Software architects typically have a bachelor’s degree in computer science, software engineering, or a related field. They usually have extensive technical knowledge gained through experience as a software engineer.

Relevant Skills: Varies depending on the specific software and technology used.

4. Enterprise Architect

Average Base Salary: $142,567

Job Summary: Enterprise architects are vital in establishing an organization’s IT infrastructure and maintaining and updating IT hardware, software, and services to support set enterprise goals. Enterprise architects create business architecture models and develop methods for compliance architecture, such as metadata management, data storage, and change control.

Qualifications: Enterprise architect’s jobs typically require an undergraduate degree in computer science or a related field and five to 10 years of IT experience before you can step into the role. Depending on the company, you may also need a master’s degree.

Relevant Skills: Cloud, Infrasture, Roadmap, A WS, Java, Cloud Computing, Governance, Azure, Digital Transformation, Project management, ITIL, Pre Sales

3. Site Reliability Engineer

Average Base Salary: $155,517

Job Summary: A site reliability engineer applies software tools to automate IT infrastructure, such as system management and application monitoring. They develop software and systems that increase site reliability and performance amidst frequent updates from the development teams. They manage large systems through code, which is more scalable and sustainable for system administrators managing thousands or hundreds of thousands of machines.

Qualifications: Site reliability engineers typically hold at least a bachelor’s degree in IT, computer science, engineering, or a related field. These professionals should have a system administrator, DevOps, or IT operations background focusing on software development skills.

Relevant Skills: APIs, AWS, Ansible, Azure, Bash, CI/CD, Cloud infrastructure, Computer Networking, DevOps, Distributed Systems

2. Backend Developer

Average Base Salary: $158,984

Job Summary: Backend developers design, build, and maintain the back end of web and mobile-based applications. The back end includes everything from the servers to application code and databases. They ensure the back end performs quickly and responsively to frontend user requests.

Qualifications: While employers may prefer candidates with at least a bachelor’s degree in computer science or a related field, you don’t require an undergraduate degree to become a backend developer. The best way to start down the path to becoming a backend developer is to learn a programming or scripting language.

Relevant Skills: Python, PHP, JavaScript, Ruby, Java, C#, Laravel, Django, Spring, Ruby on Rails, Meteor, Node.js, MongoDB, MySQL, Oracle, Apache, NGINX, Lighttpd, Microsoft IIS

1. Software Engineering Manager

Average Base Salary: $161,477

Summary: A software engineering manager oversees (hires, trains, and mentors) a team of software developers by providing direction, delegating tasks, and monitoring regulations and goals. Software engineering managers also build and maintain relationships with cross-functional teams, stakeholders, and clients.

Qualifications: Software engineering managers typically have a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in computer science or a similar field and considerable work experience (at least five years) as a software engineer. They must deeply understand software engineering, coding, and the developmental process.

Relevant Skills: APIs, AWS, Agile, C, C#, C++, CI/CD, Design Patterns, DevOps, Distributed Systems, Leadership and Management

When considering a career in the tech industry, evaluating compensation and other factors is essential. The listed tech jobs offer attractive salary prospects, but it’s worth noting that total compensation may include bonuses, equity, and benefits that vary between companies. Pursuing education, gaining relevant skills, and preparing for technical interviews can help you land these high-paying tech jobs and thrive in the ever-growing technology field.

Find your next opportunity.

IT Recruitment Trends in 2023

May 5, 2023 by INNOVA People Leave a Comment

How companies adapt to the (likely continual) uncertain business climate in 2023 will vary. But talent teams must closely monitor recruiting trends as they arise to ensure they’re prepared to meet their org’s headcount and growth needs in the year ahead.

Here are some IT recruitment trends include to watch in 2023:

Retention: Companies of all sizes attempt to retain as much of their workforce as possible amid ongoing economic headwinds. They want to be prepared to pick up their growth efforts on the other side of a potential recession. That is a markedly more difficult goal to realize if they lay off many employees to tread water now and must hire replacement workers mere months from now.

2. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI): Companies prioritize DEI in their IT recruitment efforts. They are actively seeking candidates from diverse backgrounds, including women, underrepresented minorities, and individuals with different perspectives and experiences, to promote a more inclusive and diverse workforce in the IT industry. In addition, enhancing DEI initiatives help employers stand out.

3. Upskilling and Reskilling: Given the rapidly evolving nature of technology, employers are increasingly looking for candidates willing to learn and adapt. Upskilling and reskilling programs are being implemented to help IT professionals stay relevant and acquire new skills. Employers are looking for candidates with a growth mindset and a willingness to learn and develop continuously.

4. Bolstering Employer Branding: Companies are focusing on building a strong employer brand to attract top IT talent. This includes showcasing their company culture, values, and benefits and promoting their commitment to employee development and work-life balance. The recruitment actions a company takes continuously reinforce the employee brand.

5. The Great Resignation Return: A joblist report found that one in four professionals who quit their previous job regret their decision. Of those who found a new job after quitting, 42% say that their new job has not lived up to their expectations. This sentiment could lead to more job seekers.

6. Flexible Work Arrangements: Flexible working hours, part-time roles, and job-sharing are becoming more popular in IT recruitment. Employers recognize the importance of work-life balance and offer flexible options to attract and retain top IT talent.

7. Virtual Recruitment Events: Virtual career fairs, online coding challenges, and virtual interviews are becoming more prevalent in IT recruitment. These virtual recruitment events allow employers to connect with candidates from anywhere worldwide, making the hiring process more efficient and inclusive.

8. Data-Driven Recruitment: Data-driven decision-making is becoming a key trend in IT recruitment. Companies leverage data and analytics to identify trends, patterns, and insights to optimize recruitment strategies, improve candidate experience, and make informed hiring decisions.

9. Gig Economy and Freelance Work: The gig economy and freelance work are gaining traction in the IT industry. Employers are increasingly hiring IT professionals on a project basis or as freelancers to meet their immediate needs and tap into specialized skill sets.

Staying updated with these trends can help talent teams, and IT professionals navigate the dynamic landscape of IT recruitment effectively.

Dice Sentiment Report: Tech Pros Likely to Take Flight

November 22, 2022 by INNOVA People Leave a Comment

Despite concerns of a looming recession, layoffs, and hiring freezes at tech giants like Amazon, Twitter, and Meta, technologists might feel like hunkering down and holding onto their standing desks. But a new report shows tech pros are still open to changing jobs in the next 12 months.

Data released from Dice’s annual Tech Sentiment Report includes sentiment data from 950 technologists and historical trend analysis from previous sentiment and salary reports.

Here are the key takeaways that can help empower your career moves and support company leadership, HR pros, and hiring managers to build their 2023 tech talent acquisition and retention strategies.

More technologists are likely to change employers.

Technology professionals feel confident about their skills and market prospects to consider jumping employees, with 52% of respondents surveyed indicating they’re likely to switch jobs in the next year, up from 44 percent last year. The need for tech talent shows no signs of slowing, and this increase in openness to opportunity means recruiters are more likely to get a response from both active and passive candidates.

Fully remote work remains important to most technology professionals, surpassing interest in a hybrid working model.

Once seen as a temporary solution during the pandemic has remained the preferred work method in the tech world. Dice found that approximately 70% of employers plan for a hybrid future; however, only 30% of technologists prefer hybrid work. 60% of technologists surveyed ranked fully remote work as their most desired workplace setting — up from 53% in 2021. It’s hard to ignore those numbers.

Given the continuing demand for tech skills, technologists may find they have the leverage to negotiate with employers for the flexibility they want, including custom working hours and a fully remote or hybrid working model.

From an organizational standpoint — diving into why they prefer working remotely and what, if anything, would entice them to return to the office a few days a week could help retention before rolling out a return-to-the-office model. Employers will need to get creative on incentives beyond free meals and comfy office furniture to lure workers back to an office environment.

Brand, reputation, and company culture are driving factors in technology professionals’ decisions to join a new employer.

In the age of online conversation, the reputation of individuals and entities has become more critical than ever before. With the tech job market so competitive for companies seeking talent, technologists are becoming more discerning in how they view a company’s culture, reputation, and brand.

Nearly 90% of tech professionals feel an employer’s brand is essential when considering a new employer, and almost 8 in 10 said they would not apply for a higher-paying job at a company with a poor reputation. It will be challenging to attract top tech talent if you’re not investing in your brand and reputation as an employer and ensuring your company culture supports employee morale and creativity.

Time-to-hire could create more opportunities for technologists.

Dice found that most HR professionals surveyed indicated that their times-to-hire had been faster in 2022 than in 2021. That could be due to the need to fill roles, considering nearly 50% of respondents indicated that attrition rates for technology professionals in their organization are higher than in 2021.

That’s increasing pressure to find replacements and accelerating the time needed to fill roles. So technologists need to be ready not only with an updated resume and portfolio but also to consider an offer faster than seen in the past.

Salary and merit increases

Technologists know they are in demand, and they’re learning more skills than ever to increase their value at organizations and maximize their compensation packages.

While the job market for new hires rewards these skills and competes to attract talent, organizations aren’t necessarily keeping pace regarding their current employees’ salaries. In the report, Dice’s research shows that technologists received an average merit increase of only 4.8% this year versus an expected growth of 5.2%.

This salary gap could contribute to the growing openness of changing employers.

If your organization is struggling to keep up with inflation — as most companies are — offer other incentives or compensation like additional paid time off, remote and flexible work options, or training and education opportunities — all of which were ranked as important to tech professionals in the Dice 2022 Tech Salary Report.

Let our talent acquisition professionals help you elevate your career. Work with INNOVA People today.

Hiring Full-Time vs. Part-Time Tech Employees – What to Consider

August 5, 2022 by INNOVA People Leave a Comment

Today’s employees want more options; hybrid, fully remote, a four-day work week, and working part-time are a few. If you’re a start-up or a growing company, it can be hard to navigate if you need a full-time staffer or someone to fill in gaps a few days a week.

The Pros and Cons of Part-Time & Full-Time Employees

Offering part-time work options effectively attracts top talent while keeping your company agile and ready to staff up or down according to your needs. But blending part-time workers with your full-time workforce takes some finesse. Before rolling out a part-time option, consider these pros and cons to determine whether it makes sense for your business.

Start with the basics – what is considered Full-Time?

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the primary employment law in the U.S., doesn’t provide a clear definition for part-time or full-time jobs. Depending on your company, the line between part-time and full-time employment can differ.

Most companies require full-time employees to work between 32 and 40 hours per week. The Bureau of Labor Statistics sets the benchmark for full-time employees a little higher, at 35 hours a week, but this isn’t law.

State and local laws vary in providing benefits for part-time employees. Some states may require employers to provide their part-time workers sick leave, paid time off, short-term disability, or health insurance. For example, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires that employees who work 30 hours per week (or over 130 hours per month) must be given the option to receive health insurance benefits, or the business may risk fines.

Higher rates of productivity

A HubSpot report found that lost productivity costs U.S. businesses a shocking $1.8 trillion yearly. Helping a full-time employee drop down to a part-time schedule often lowers a company’s cost more than their productivity losses. Parkinson’s law is the adage that work will expand to fill the time allotted for completion. Deadlines can cause procrastination or even prompt people to fill their time with trivial matters. Employees who drop to a part-time schedule often cut out less important tasks like meetings and finish most of the same work in less time.

Stronger level of employee loyalty

Employers often view full-time employees as more committed to the company and less likely to job-hop than contractors or part-time workers. While this may or may not be true in practice, the perception persists. There’s a stronger sense of belonging, and full-time employees can access all the company benefits and training. The security that company benefits can provide is very valuable.

Beyond receiving benefits, full-time employees get to know their coworkers and build relationships and networks throughout the workplace in ways that part-time employees have fewer opportunities to do so. These connections improve day-to-day operations and projects, help employees feel valued and appreciated, and make them more productive and successful over the long term.

Greater training requirements

Full-time IT employees have the opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of the technology they work with. In contrast to part-time employees who may have to learn new technologies and platforms for each project, full-time IT workers can become experts in their tech specialty or field. This technical knowledge and a strong understanding of the company make full-time tech employees valuable assets to many organizations.

Cons of hiring full-time employees

It can be expensive and time-consuming to onboard and train a new employee, not to mention paying someone a full salary instead of a half-time wage. Then you add the additional healthcare and benefits; it can add up pretty quickly, especially considering the cost if you don’t get the hire right.

Hiring good employees can be challenging, costly, and time-consuming.

The IT job market is hotter than it’s ever been. IT pros have the pick of when and where they want to work.

It’s taking more days to recruit and hire top talent; according to LinkedIn, only 30% of companies can fill a vacant role within 30 days. The other 70% of companies take 1 – 4 months to process a new hire. The longer it takes to fill critical positions is costly.

Paying full salaries even during quiet or reduced periods.

When an employee commits to your organization, you commit to them, even during the slow months. Regardless of the workload, a full-time employee will still earn the same salary even when a big project has been completed.

Pros of hiring part-time employees

More flexibility

It allows for more nimble staffing for fluctuating ups and downs. It doesn’t always make sense for organizations in volatile industries to ramp up their roster of full-time employees during busy times if they don’t have enough to do during downturns. Or worse yet, you have to lay off those same employees.

If you hire part-time employees to help carry the workload, you give your full-time employees extra support. Part-time workers can also fill in for employees taking sick or maternity leave and work schedules not covered by full-time employees.

Cost-effective solution

You save on salary and employee benefits, especially with the skyrocketing cost of providing healthcare benefits.

Expanding the talent pool

When you consider part-time employees, you’re opening the door to a talent pool you may be overlooking (for example, mothers re-entering the workforce, workers transitioning to retirement, or someone pursuing a passion project on the side).

Not all exceptionally skilled and talented individuals seek full-time employment, so you cast a wider net in your recruiting efforts when considering part-time candidates. Moreover, you may even increase employee retention by offering part-time options to your existing workforce.

Cons of hiring part-time employees

Less invested in your company

If you’re not receiving paid time off, sick days, and education benefits, it’s a valid concern that part-time workers would feel less committed to the organization. For some, showing up, doing the work, and heading home without the added stress may be a benefit. For others, this may mean they are more inclined to job-hop because they don’t feel as valued as their full-time counterparts.

Consistency with your workloads

One con to consider is the struggle of full-time expectations. Those working a full 40-hour workweek may be carrying a heavier workload and can build resentment. A salaried employee is expected to work until the project is complete, whereas a part-time person may leave once they hit their weekly hours.

Lack of face time

It’s hard to ignore that part-time workers aren’t around as much as full-time employees. It can be challenging for managers to include everyone always if an emergency meeting is needed and schedules don’t allow everyone to be available to weigh in.

A strong manager needs to help the entire team feel supported and appreciated. Only working half-time may make part-timers feel less a part of the team and more detached. Consider scheduling meetings or team-building activities to accommodate everyone’s work schedule.

There is truly no wrong decision here. Both part-time and full-time employment options are tools in your arsenal as your business evolves and grows (or stagnates). Part-time employees offer flexibility and potential cost savings, and full-time employees offer more consistent staffing and support for your business needs.