Is Technology A Good Career Path?

The tech industry is so vast that it incorporates dozens of IT firms, large tech companies, global brands and innovative startups. While the industry exposes you to limitless employment opportunities, it is also a great place for many individuals dreaming to have fulfilling and high-paying careers.

If the thought of working in one of the biggest tech companies has ever crossed your mind, chances are that you’ll want to find out some of the best-paying jobs in the field of technology. You might also want to get a convincing answer as to whether technology is a good career path.

Therefore, this post will not only answer the question “Is technology a good career path?” but also provide you with a list of the 10 best-paying jobs in technology.

Is Technology a Good Career Path?

The best way to convince anyone that a career in technology is worth pursuing is to perhaps enlighten them about the benefits inherent in the career. So, here are the top benefits of a career in technology:

Opportunity to Learn New Things

With a career in technology, your chances of learning new things are really high, because the tech field doesn’t stop expanding; the field has always had emerging trends, practices and paths that innovative individuals might like to explore.

The tech field allows you a generous avenue for acquiring new skills that could push you further up the career ladder. If you’ve always dreamt of a career where you learn new things, diversify easily and increase your employability, technology is most probably the best career path for you.

While it’s possible for you to get bored after spending years in a particular tech area, it’s highly unlikely that you’ll lose interest in technology entirely. The reason for this is simple –technology is an ever-evolving field where you can explore lots of new trends and skills.

Potential of Earning Big

The more you acquire (new) tech skills, the higher your earning potential in the field of technology. Although there are entry-level tech positions with somewhat low salaries, technology is generally considered a high-paying field.

Lots of tech professionals earn really well. In fact, there are tech experts who earn up to $200,000 annually. Aside from your skill set, other factors that influence your potential of earning big in technology are job title, level of experience, employer, and location.

If you boast a wealth of in-demand tech skills, it’s likely you’ll earn big with at least one of those skills. It’s up to you to actually tap into some of the high-paying tech paths out there.

Opportunity to Work Remotely

It’s hard to deny that dozens of tech professionals work from home. While some tech jobs allow you to work only partly online, there are still many completely remote tech jobs.

If you just can’t cope with the traditional work situation where your boss gets to monitor you all the time, remote tech jobs are probably your best bet. Interestingly, the tech field offers an abundance of such jobs.

Working remotely does have its own benefits, which include a great deal of flexibility and less work-related pressure. With a very flexible tech job, it is pretty easy for you to schedule convenient work hours.

The Tech Field Is Highly Relevant in the Modern World

The modern world is moving at a fast pace, but it isn’t all professions that can actually meet up with this pace.

If you don’t want to get stuck in a profession that might become irrelevant anytime soon, due to inevitable workplace changes, technology is most probably the best career path for you.

Nowadays, lots of organizations, businesses and other similar ventures engage the services of tech experts such as IT specialists, programmers and software developers. While this clearly indicates that technology is highly relevant, the good news is that tech experts can secure employment in both private and public organizations.

Access to Quick and Affordable Education

Traditional four-year degree programs aren’t just for everyone. Plus, many people just can’t afford the relatively high fees associated with the majority of the programs.

Courtesy of the tech field, lots of people now have a great shot at a fast and affordable education. This sort of education is so fast that learners complete their certifications in less than two years.

Technology is one industry where your skills are much more valuable than your certifications. Nevertheless, we just can’t completely rule out the need to be a certified tech professional. Luckily, the tech field makes it very easy for you to spend less, while still undergoing the certification program that could land you a high-paying tech position in the future.

Access to Additional Beneficial Packages

There are tech companies where employees can access tuition assistance and certain other benefits that either guarantee fulfilment or facilitate career progression.

Some of the other beneficial packages in tech include medical care and the chance to spend quality time off work. With this, you’ll not only enjoy a fulfilling career but also have the time to engage in other vital endeavours.

If you think you’d need tuition assistance sometime in the future, taking up a job in technology might be worth it.

What Are the 10 Best-Paying Jobs in Technology?

Information Systems Security Manager

This tech job charges you with the duty of securing a company’s or organization’s overall information systems and components, including networks, data, and computers.

Many companies –especially those dealing with lots of sensitive data –are wary of the disaster that could result from information system breaches. The losses that result from tech system breaches might not only affect a company financially, but also cause the company to lose its integrity.

While their role in various organizations –including tech outfits –cannot be downplayed, information systems security managers are well-remunerated tech professionals with an average annual salary of $153,677. The major responsibility of these tech experts is to safeguard a company’s information systems and components –such as computers, data and networks –against hackers, computer viruses and other security threats.

Data Scientist

The average annual salary of data scientists is estimated at $150,000. Without any doubt, data scientists deserve earning this huge, courtesy of the invaluable role they play in an organization’s data-related decision-making.

Data scientists are tech experts who handle an organization’s or company’s complex data. They conduct a thorough analysis of the data with the intent of helping their company make smart data-driven decisions. While data scientists are commonly hired by numerous organizations, including big tech outfits, the demand for these tech experts has been an explosive trend over the years.

Some of the responsibilities of the data scientist include the development of data models, identification of algorithms for Machine Learning, and coding in SAS, R, Python and other languages. Notably, data scientists also help their employers work out smart solutions with respect to various business concerns.

Blockchain Engineer

The job of the blockchain engineer is really a high-paying tech role, thanks to the explosive growth of blockchain technology. Billions of dollars have been thrown into blockchain solutions, and projections reveal that more money would be channelled into the blockchain.

While there’s bound to be continued demand for them, blockchain engineers are experts with multi-faceted knowledge which incorporates security protocol stacks, consensus processes, and the dynamics of the crypto sphere. Specifically, they need to have a vast knowledge of popular crypto technologies such as Bitcoin, Ripple and Ethereum.

The general responsibility of the blockchain engineer is to work out or build blockchain-based architecture and solutions. With the role of the blockchain engineer considered one of the best-paying tech jobs out there, it’s worth noting that a career in the blockchain is worthwhile. The average annual salary of blockchain engineers is estimated at $150,000.

Big Data Engineer

Big Data architects fall among the tech experts most commonly hired by businesses that seek to generate vital insights from voluminous bytes of data. While they substantially assist businesses in the development and execution of Big Data applications, the Big Data engineer must possess excellent programming and data visualization skills. Also, they need to be skilled in specific programs including Spark, NoSQL, and Hadoop.

The average annual salary of Big Data architects hovers around $140,000. Undeniably, Big Data engineers deserve to be highly remunerated as their vast role encompasses planning, executing and supervising the entire process of Big Data application development. These Big Data experts put their varying knowledge –of programming, warehousing technologies, communication, data visualization, etc. –into perfect use.

DevOps Engineer

This is one of the tech positions that require you to have specific coding skills along with system management skills. The DevOps engineer’s duties may include integration of cloud services for process automation and development and maintenance of deployment infrastructure.

Although their role may be considered specific, the DevOps engineer is often considered part of an operations team or a development team. If the DevOps engineer belongs to the operations team, their duty may revolve around app development. On the other hand, their duty may largely include participating in deployment and network operations if the DevOps engineer belongs to the development team.

DevOps engineers are well-remunerated professionals with an average annual salary that ranges up to $140,000. In addition to being skilled in Python, Ruby, PHP, etc., the DevOps engineer is expected to be proficient in Git, Jenkins, etc.

Software Engineering Manager

Here is one of the top-paying managerial roles in the field of technology.

Without any doubt, the software engineering manager gets rewarded substantially for their ability to coordinate the activities of subordinate software engineers.

Asides from being able to supervise subordinates, the software engineering managers themselves must be able to carry out the duties of the subordinates. That’s just one of the reasons why a software engineering manager is expected to be proficient in programming languages.

Qualification-wise, anyone jostling for the position of a software engineering manager may be required to have industry-specific experience in addition to a minimum of B.Sc. in programming or computer science. The average annual salary of software engineering managers hovers around $134,156.

One of the software engineer’s abilities –which the software engineering manager must also possess –is the design and development of programs, applications, software, etc.

Internet of Things (IoT) Solutions Architect ($130,000)

Those who occupy this tech role are regarded as the brains behind IoT architecture and solutions. While the IoT solutions architect generally partakes in the IoT ecosystem, they specifically coordinate the design and architectural activities taking place in this ecosystem.

IoT solutions architects do not only provide solutions to issues within the IoT ecosystem, they also engage in the design and building of hardware. They must possess relevant skills including programming and machine learning.

Broadly, IoT solutions architects understand all that is needed for the formulation, implementation and maintenance of IoT solutions. They fall among commonly hired and well-paid tech professionals and their average annual salary hover around $130,000.

Software Architect

The software architect helps clients determine software needs and work toward the design and development of the client’s needs.

As a software architect, you must be able to leverage your software knowledge as well as your coding skills for formulating and implementing software designs. It is part of your responsibility to create and test prototypes with respect to what you’re building for clients. Software architects earn a high average annual salary to the tune of $114,000.

While software architects also put in place the standards for tools, coding, etc., they must possess excellent analytical skills, coupled with substantial programming and data modelling skills.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineer

The role of artificial intelligence (AI) engineer/architect is one of the tech positions where you need a wealth of tech skills in order to succeed. Besides being vastly skilled in coding, you need to arm yourself with knowledge of Deep Learning, Machine Learning, and certain other AI-related areas.

While they are also expected to be skilled in R, Torch, Python, etc., AI engineers generally assist an organization with the design, development and management of AI projects.

One of the other essential areas of knowledge for AI architects is TensorFlow. With that noted, AI architects get justifiably remunerated in return for what they contribute to the development of AI projects. The average annual salary of these professionals is estimated at $110,000.

Cloud Architect

The cloud architect is generally tasked with the duties of formulating a cloud strategy, planning cloud architecture, and deploying cloud strategy and architecture. While their job is most commonly tied to the cloud environment, cloud architects are the professionals who define and implement cloud computing strategies for organizations.

Specifically, a cloud architect must be skilled in Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and other common cloud platforms. Also, they must be skilled in cloud applications and general cloud architecture.

Cloud architect jobs aren’t difficult to find, considering that cloud computing is a common tech area. Your specific role within the cloud environment may influence your salary, but on average, cloud architects have a high annual salary to the tune of $107,000.

FAQs

What Is the Best-Paying Tech Job?

There are many high-paying tech jobs out there. While we have already provided a list of the 10 best-paying tech jobs, some findings show that the role of a data scientist is seemingly the best-paying job in the tech industry. The findings further show that on average, data scientists could earn in excess of $150,000 per year.

Can Somebody without a Tech Degree Land a Tech Job?

You might think your failure to hold a degree in IT, programming, computer science or a related discipline already means you can’t land a tech job. Inasmuch as that isn’t the case, anybody with the required skills for a tech position can qualify for that position even without holding any tech degree.

Tech degrees serve to boost your overall attractiveness (or perhaps professionalism) while applying for tech jobs, but most times, they are not the actual requisites that qualify you for tech positions. Numerous non-degree holders with in-demand skills –such as data analytics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, Big Data, cloud computing, etc., –are landing some of the high-paying tech jobs out there.

Are There Low-Paying Tech Jobs?

Some jobs are still fairly considered tech positions, but they come with really low remuneration, compared to what the best tech jobs offer. There are many of these jobs and some of them include Survey Researcher, Operations Research Analyst, Technical Support Representative, Computer Network Support Specialist, Computer User Support Specialist, and Network Administrator.