Top 10 Highest Paying IT Jobs

There is no surprise that CIOs are the highest paid IT professionals, with a projected average annual salary of between $180-212K this year. But, according to our recent 2012 IT Salary Guide, we have found some exciting news for other IT pros. Between 30-40% of the jobs in IT we surveyed will have starting salary ranges over six figures this year.

Michael Kirven, co-founder of Bluewolf, says,

“The market is hot for IT talent and companies are scrambling to implement new flexible technologies, leaving IT deliberating over how to design both their technology and their workforce for scalability. This continued high demand of IT only logically leads to an increase in those salaries.”

Specifically, we’ve found that both software developers and security analysts are seeing the most significant salary increases, along with those IT professionals involved in the challenges around “Big Data.”

Review our findings of the 2012's highest paid IT salaries and projected percentage growth:

1. Chief Information Officer: $180-212k
2. Chief Security Officer: $158-207k
3. Application Architect: $126-166k
4. Network Architect: $121-142k
5. Data Warehouse Engineer $119-133k
6. Software Engineer: $116-152k
7. Software Developer (Front end): $107-132k
8. Sr. Systems Administrator: $110-125k
9. Mobile Developer: $109-124k
10. Information Security Analyst: $106-141k

*Salary range predictions are based on the D.C.Metro Area. To see the salary range predictions for your region, download the 2012's National IT Salary Guide.

While our findings over the past year show good news for tech specialists in 2012, they also reveal a decline in job candidates with the skill-sets required to meet those needs. As demand for hot technology skill-sets increases across every industry, the market for talent has become very competitive and the pool of IT pros and leaders is shrinking fast.

“Organizations aren’t just competing against each other for qualified tech professionals—they’re contending with an ever widening talent gap and the mass exodus of baby boomer retirees,”

- says Kirven.

These issues pose a huge challenge for business as they scramble to adopt new flexible technologies that support the Agile Enterprise. But, for those with the right skill-sets, this should come as good news - get trained and get hired.

Download our 2012 IT Salary Guide for the full list of IT job titles experiencing significant salary growth this year. 

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