24 High Paying Tech Jobs (And What They Pay)

What's happening, guys? It's Shane here. And in today's video, I'm actually going to do something that I've never done before. I have a guest on the channel and we're going to be talking about 24 different tech-related careers that we think are really good. So I had Antoine from Black Heights on the channel. He has another YouTube channel where he talks about tech sales and other tech-related careers. Phenomenal channel. Definitely go check it out. And we ran across this article from careerkarma.com that was talking about the top 24 tech-related careers in 2022. Now, typically when we see these articles, they're really not all that well done. They're very surface level. But this article actually had some really good careers on it. So we kind of wanted to basically review the article and go over each of the careers and give our opinions on each of them. And Antoine has 10 years of experience in technology. He's also worked in several different roles all the way from supply chain to IT to software developer to technology sales. So he really knows the technology industry in and out, and he was able to give his insight on this. So let me know if you like this type of content. This is basically the first time I'm trying something like this on the channel. Also, gently tap that like button, hit the subscribe button, ring the notification bell, and let's jump right into it. What's happening, guys? I've got a special guest on the channel, Antoine. We are going to be going over this article by Career Karma that we thought was a really good article. Career Karma is a great website. It's called Best Tech Jobs in 2022. We're going to be going over this list and kind of giving our thoughts on it. Antoine has like a decade plus of experience in technology. He's also had many different roles within technology. And then he has four years of experience in technology sales specifically. I also brought him on the channel for an interview, which we just did. That should be posted probably within the next few days if this one hasn't been posted yet. And we're going to go over our thoughts on these different careers and the opportunities there and where we see these going in the future. So thanks again for coming on the channel, Antoine. I appreciate it. Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me, Shane. I'm looking forward to discussing some of these awesome careers in tech for your audience and for my audience as well, too. So looking forward to it. All right. Well, let's jump right into it with number one on the list. We've got IT Manager. I'll have that pop up on the screen. It looks like IT Manager median annual salary, according to Career Karma, is $151,000 a year. Job growth in the next 10 years, according to BLS, is about 11 percent, which is much faster than average. So what are your thoughts on IT Manager? I think it's a fantastic career, Shane. And let me just tell you why, right? Because, you know, as an IT Manager, you are someone who has the responsibility over the information technology sector of your company. So you are in a leadership role. So you plan, you coordinate basically everything that's inside the department. You may have a lot of people working for you, some software developers, system analysts, system admins and so forth. But you are the person that's in control. And if you are a person that likes, you know, management and leadership, which I find to be absolutely fantastic, you will like this career. So I think it's one of the best opportunities out there from a career standpoint in tech. Not only that, something that I talk about on my channel quite often, Shane, is Management Information Systems, which is a degree that helps to translate into a role as an information technology manager. So I think it's a fantastic degree. You already know the statistics, 151,000. That's a good amount of money. And not only that, the job growth is faster than the average. So it's definitely a good career, Shane. Got it. And yeah, MIS, probably my favorite business degree, slash, you know, slash technology. It's kind of a mixture of both. It teaches you a lot of really important stuff that you need to know for both of those worlds, which I think is really important as well. So definitely agree with what you said there. Number two on the list, Computer Research Scientist. We've got a median annual salary of about 126,000 and job growth of 22%, according to BLS, which is much faster than average. What are your thoughts on that one, Antoine? This is a fairly new sort of a specialist role, Shane. But what I would say is that I like this role. I like this role because, if you think about it, they are researching how to make technology better, right? So you're researching research, right? You're researching software, hardware. You're researching things to make technology even better. So you can discover new ways to do some of the awesome things that we're getting today. So AI and machine learning, and there's going to be other things that exist out there that's going to come in the technology space as well. And you're going to be the person that researches and determine if it's a good fit for your company, or it's a good product or not for yourself or for other people to leverage. So I have a very good feeling about this one right here. And know that if you are in the computer science space, this is a role that you can transfer into directly out of college. Because one thing that college does is also teach you how to do a bunch of research as well too. So fantastic numbers, fantastic statistics, and a huge, huge job growth percentage at 22%, Shane. Got it, yeah. And one of the reasons Antoine and I both like this list, because most of the lists will just go over like very surface level careers. You can tell they don't really know too much about technology. But this list got really down and dirty in the details. A lot of these careers on this list aren't even listed on BLS, for instance, right? So, and that's what you're going to find in tech, because tech moves so fast. There's careers that pop up that, you know, now that maybe didn't even exist five years ago. Because that's just the speed of innovation. And, you know, people have to keep up with that speed of innovation that happens in tech. So number three on the list is going to be machine learning engineer. Average base salary is $122,000 a year. The growth is not going to be listed because BLS doesn't have this one on their website, because it's one of those newer careers. But what are your thoughts on machine learning engineer? These are the guys who are causing a whole bunch of change in the technology space, not only just technology space, Shane. These are the ones that are causing a whole bunch of change in the world in general, because these are the folks who are automating roles. These are the folks who are automating careers. These are folks who are automating positions. So I'm excited about this one as well, too. Many people won't be excited because they may be displaced out of a career relatively fast. But if you think about a machine learning engineer, they are the ones who create programs that allow computers and so forth to handle certain tasks and duties. And that means that no longer do you need to enter a script all the time at a certain time of the day. The machine, your computer, can actually do that on its own now. And machine learning engineers are the ones who help to make that come to life. So these are automation experts. These are the folks who are displacing people and getting rid of jobs and so forth. But they also are creating efficiencies as well, too. Because if you think about it, if a machine can do it, there's going to be a little bit more or there's going to be a lot more efficiency. And the company is actually going to save money as well, too. So increased profits and so forth. But this was an exciting one as well, Shane. And I'm excited about this one as well. Got it. And we're going to do this rapid fire. So next one on the list right away. One of my favorite careers in tech. I really like this one a lot. And that is DevOps engineer. So salary here is going to be about $121,000 or $120,000 a year. And it doesn't list the job growth. But I can tell you, there is a ton of demand for this one in the technology industry. So what are your thoughts on this one, Antoine? Big time. I like this one, too, Shane. I have a couple of friends who are in this role right now, and they love their job, right? They're the ones that's responsible for making sure things are working the correct way and they're configuring things the correct way and so forth. And whenever there needs to be a big employment or deployment of software in the company, they're the ones that's responsible for exciting work, always working on the latest and greatest technology. This is one that you're always going to be learning. And that's what a lot of people want to do in their career. They always want to learn. And not only that, Shane, it comes with a huge amount of money. So this one is a good one, Shane. I'm really liking the DevOps engineer. Got it. And then next one on the list, computer hardware engineer. Median annual salary here is about $119,000. Job growth is 2% over the next 10 years, which is slower than average. But I think that this is one where in the technology industry, just because this specific career has a slower than average job growth, I think something that BLS misses on a little bit, even though I think they do a fantastic job overall, is the different industries, it's very easy to switch to different careers. So there are careers that are very similar to computer hardware engineer, but they just don't have the same name. And so BLS doesn't group them together to have a lot higher job growth. So what are your thoughts on this one, Antoine? I would say this one. I like this one. But this is more of an average for me. They make a lot of money, first of all, Shane. But obviously, you can tell by the job growth. And yes, there are other careers that a computer hardware engineer can translate into, or there's other names for the actual career itself. But just on the hardware side of things, I've never been in the hardware side. So I'm a bit biased from that aspect of it. But the people that I know who are on the hardware side, they absolutely love it. And they're always looking at ways to find speed and efficiencies within hardware products, think about silicone and so forth. So if you're looking to go on the hardware side or stay on the hardware side, this is a good opportunity for you. Most of these people typically stay in that area because you can make a lot of money, especially if you're working on a specific type of product that isn't going to get in the cycle anytime soon. I think this is a good one for you. So I consider it to be average. But at the same time, it is a fantastic career. It's a tech career. So there's nothing, nothing average about tech. And like this, that salary, that salary is twice the median average in the United States. So you're making big money there, Shane. Definitely. Yeah, it's, it's still pretty good. I mean, even the ones that, you know, don't have the best numbers on the list are still going to be extremely good. Next one on the list is going to be computer network architect. So this one about $116,000 year job growth is 5%, according to BLS. What are your thoughts on this one? I love this one, Shane. Even though the numbers from a job growth perspective is only 5%, this was still great because cloud is continuing to grow. You have even countries that still aren't, you know, leveraging the cloud, much like the United States and some of the developing world. So this one is a fantastic career that many people should focus on, especially with the competitors out there, such as Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and so forth. You learn cloud and you become a expert in one of these companies and their technologies. You're going to make a lot of money in the demand and the demand for these roles are going to continue to grow up because as the cloud continues to expand in other countries and so forth, you're going to be in higher demand as well too. Got it. And the next one on the list, I think everybody knows this one. Number seven, software engineer, medium annual salaries, $115,000 a year. And the job growth is absolutely ridiculous at 22%, which is much faster than average. What are your thoughts on this one? Fantastic career. I just say this, right? I think software engineer is the foundation to the technical industry. And what do I mean by that? Well, I mean, outside of the help desk, it's going to give you the best foundation of technology in general. This is where I started my career off in as my first role. And I really do think that this is what allowed for me to be able to expand across many other roles and also to end up in sales. Because as a software engineer, you're taking requirements, you're talking to a lot of people, you're talking about business at the same time, and you do this just about every single day. And as you can see, the numbers are high because it's not easy, but it is a really, really good role to be in and one that will demand you to grow. So you see that the job growth is at 22%. Fantastic. The median annual salary is at 115,000. Fantastic. I recommend this one and I am a big fan of software engineering. Number eight on the list, kind of a repeat of one of the earlier ones with a little added on artificial intelligence and machine learning engineer salary here is going to be $111,000 a year. Any thoughts on this one? Another good one as well. Just like I like machine learning. This is the same exact. I have the same exact sentiment towards this one as well to Shane. Artificial intelligence, something that is going to continue to be needed in the technology space. And you're going to have a great career if you are in artificial intelligence. So wonderful, wonderful, wonderful job outlook, wonderful salaries as well. Got it. And then another one that's very similar to one we just talked about, which was software engineering. Number nine on the list is going to be software developer. Median annual salary is $110,000 a year. And the job growth is 22%, which is much faster than average. So kind of the same things along the line with software engineer on that one. So we'll just go ahead and skip that one and go to number 10, which is tech sales engineer. What are your, well, the median annual salary is 108,000. Job growth is 8%, which is as fast as average. I looked into how BLS sort of groups their sales roles together, and I didn't really think that they did it the correct way. But with that being said, what are your thoughts on tech sales engineer? I love this one, Shane. I absolutely love this one because these are the people that I rely on on a daily basis. As somebody who's in sales, I need to have somebody who can actually demonstrate the software and who is an expert in the software itself. So if you are a person that has a knack for wanting to know the details of software or solutions, and you'd like to talk to customers, and you don't want to be the person that's constantly building those relationships because you want to stay on the technical side, absolutely fantastic role will get you a lot of money, $108,000. You can see the job growth is 8%. But let me tell you this, that median salary is $108,000. You can make a lot more. You can double that as a sales engineer working for the right company. So I love this one right here, and it keeps you staying technical if that's your pursuit within your career. Now, Antoine has a channel called Black Heights. I'll link that down in the description below. He talks about tech sales in that channel, and he is extremely knowledgeable in the technology industry in general. He also has four years of experience in tech sales. And spoiler alert, I hate to say this because you probably get a little bit embarrassed if I bring this up, but he makes over $500,000 a year in tech sales, guys. So Antoine really knows his stuff. So if tech sales is a career that you are interested in, one resource that Antoine and I both recommend is a company called Course Careers. They basically will train you on the basics of what you need to know to get an entry-level role in tech sales, and then they actually get you interviews where you can either get a job right off the bat or you can get a paid internship. So this is incredibly valuable. Lots of people I've talked to that have went through the program have gotten a job in one to two months, some of them even less than a month, which is just mind-blowing. Nobody else gets results like that. So if you want to take the free training, Troy did put together a free training. I will put that down in the description as well as the pinned comment below. And if you decide to use their service, we do have a $50 off coupon. I think it's like Shane 50 or something like that. I'll put that down there as well. And then number 11 on the list, I actually interviewed Richard, who is a product manager. I'm going to have the interview. I don't know. It'll probably be out by the time this one's out. Product manager, median annual salary, $108,000 a year. Job growth is 5%, according to BLS. What are your thoughts on this one? I like this one, Shane. I like this one because a product manager, in my opinion, is very similar to like a mini CEO of a product. They're the ones who get everybody to rally around their initiatives on the actual product. So they always get customer feedback. They get marketing feedback. They get finance feedback on how things are working. And they are a person that collaborates across the board. And one thing that's really cool about product management or a product manager, you can enter this field from just about any other career. You just have to have a business mentality and be very, very strategic. You don't necessarily have to come from a coder background or developer background. I love this one. And it is a place that many people are finding their knack in because they think strategic and they want to expand their career. So think about it as a mini CEO. If you like to lead things and be the person responsible for products or services, fantastic, fantastic career to get into, Shane. Got it. Yeah, I've heard that one described as entrepreneurship with training wheels. Basically, you're kind of, you know, as an entrepreneur, you'd be wearing maybe like 12 hats, something like that. As a product manager, you're wearing like maybe eight hats, eight to nine hats. So you're really taking care of like a lot of different areas, marketing, sales, finance, etc. And that's kind of training wheels for basically figuring out how to be an entrepreneur or a CEO in the future. So that's a really good one as well. And that's why I brought Richard on the channel. Number 12 on the list is going to be Python developer. So Python, one of the most common languages, very, very hot language right now, for sure. Probably one of the best ones for you to learn if you're just starting off. Median annual salary is $108,000 a year. Job growth, 13%, which is faster than average. What are your thoughts on this one? Another great one, Shane, especially if you're looking to get into machine learning or AI, you're going to need to learn Python. That's one of the requirements for these roles as well. So I think this Python is going to be around for a long time because it's such an easy language to learn, but also at the same time, it does a lot, especially around big data and so forth. You can manipulate a lot of data and I think it's a fantastic skill set to have. So Python developers, thumbs up. Another one along those same lines, number 13 on the list is going to be Java developer. This one, $108,000 a year, job growth, 13%, which is faster than average. What are your thoughts on Java? Another good one. Another good programming language as well. When I was in school, I was learning C++ and C Sharp and so forth. And Java was relatively new, but it was out there. But now it's such a robust programming language right now and it's useful across many different applications from finance to programming in our Android phones, if you have an Android phone and so forth. So if you have Java skills, you're going to be employed. You're going to be employed. I give this one another thumbs up, Shane. Got it. And then another one along the same lines, number 14, PHP developer, $107,000 a year, 13% job growth, much faster than average. What are your thoughts on this one? Well, I think PHP, I'm not a big fan of this one right here, Shane. And the reason why I'm not a big fan of this one is not because of the developer title. It's more because of the technology. A lot of things are becoming a lot easier, especially when it comes down to building web pages, front end pages, and so forth. And PHP is really being automated itself. And it's making it easier to where you don't need to learn the language anymore. So I'm not as highly on this one like I am with Java, as well as Python. But this one right here, it has some good numbers. But again, I think this one, PHP, is going to continue to slip down the list year after year. I would agree with that as well. Yeah, definitely. And then number 15 on the list, information security analyst. This is a good one. So $103,000 a year, job growth is an absolutely ridiculous 33%, which is much, much faster than average. What are your thoughts here? Well, these are the guys that are protecting us in our companies. These are the guys that are protecting data and protecting company, very, very sensitive company information. So they're needed, they're needed, they're needed. Obviously, whenever there's a data breach, it costs companies millions to billions of dollars. So you see how much in demand information security analysts are. I think it's a fantastic job with fantastic numbers. And it's an easy or it is the entry level into cybersecurity. So if you're thinking about cybersecurity, consider becoming an information security analyst. I think it's going to be good for you. Yeah, and that's another one that is kind of relatively easy to break into. I wouldn't say like super, super easy, but it is one that you can break into without a college degree in many cases. So I really liked that one a lot as well. Number 16 on the list, database administrator, $98,000 a year, 8% job growth. What are your thoughts on this one? I like this one, Shane. And I like this one because to be quite honest, you don't need a degree to be a database administrator. Now, most jobs you're probably going to see out there that exist are going to say you do need one, or they're going to ask you for one, four years or so forth. But you really don't, or you really need to know a SQL, you need to know about Microsoft tools, or Oracle tools, or some of the other non-SQL type of databases that exist out there. So if you can learn those tools or those systems, you can become a database administrator. Not only that, you can also transfer that into something of a data analyst role, or machine learning, or data science and so forth, and vice versa. You can be a data science, become a database administrator. So I like this one because of the flexibility behind it. And not only that, it doesn't necessarily require you to have a degree. Got it. Number 17 on the list. Now, this is one that is very controversial. Data scientists, okay, $98,000 a year, that's what they have as the median salary. And then on top of that, it does have pretty good job growth, but it's not listed on BLS. So what are your opinions on data scientists? Glorified data analysts. I like the career. These are big data experts and so forth. But they're glorified data analysts, in my opinion. I think that's going to continue to, or like this, Shane, I think that the title is going to change overall. And we're going to see a new version of this. It may transform into a database administrator. It may be a data scientist 2.0, whatever it is. I'm not as sold on data scientists role as much as I am on some of the other roles that we've talked about here. Got it. Yeah. And, you know, if you look at BLS, you look into the, you know, the data and the placement, everything. A lot of the people who become data scientists do have master's degrees, at least that's what happened in the past. But that just goes against everything that tech is about, in my opinion, having this kind of like barrier where you're like, oh, you have to have at least a master's to get in. That's not what tech is all about, in my opinion. But with that being said, you know, the numbers do show that a lot of people who go into this role of data scientist do have master's degrees. But there's many people who get into it with bachelor's degrees, and there's people who even get into it without a degree. They, you know, become a data analyst, maybe they move into data engineering, and they eventually become a data scientist. Companies also incentivize people with the role names, because, you know, there's some prestige attached to being a data scientist versus a data analyst. And so they'll kind of incentivize different roles by just calling the data scientist role data scientist, when in reality, it's very similar to a data analyst role. So yeah, a lot of controversy there, definitely. But still, I'd say overall, very good career to get into. Number 18 on the list is going to be database developer, $96,000 a year here, doesn't show the job growth, but again, going to have pretty good job growth for sure. What are your thoughts on this one? Another good one. Another good one as well, Shane. And you can, you know, become a database developer. If you are a developer, and you like to work with SQL or database management systems. So I like this one. Another role that you can transfer from as being a database administrator as well, if you want to become more technical. So a lot of the flexibility that the database administrator, data analyst and so forth has, you would find that in a database developer as well too. And great numbers. I mean, like $96,000. I mean, that's a good median annual salary. And I'm like, I will take that any day. You know, versus coming out of college making $48,000 where I started my career. Absolutely. And there is so much opportunity with databases for sure. I remember I've told this story on my channel a few times, but I met this database architect. He was working in, I saw him at like Starbucks and McDonald's where I was studying when I was in school. And he would, he would be there all the time. And so finally we, you know, we saw each other a bunch of times. So we talked to each other and yeah, he'd just be, he'd be working and just doing his thing. And he was a database architect. And eventually I, you know, I asked him kind of like the details of his career, cause I was just really curious about it. And, you know, he was making well over $200,000 a year. And he told me he worked about 10 hours a week. He told me some weeks he'd be working more, some weeks he'd be working less, but yeah, it's one of those jobs where it's just a super valuable skillset. And he didn't really have to do too much except for, you know, certain times when, when something happened, he would have to work a little bit more, but a lot of the time he was working five, 10 hours a week. So yeah, really, really good one there. Computer systems analyst is the next one on the list. $93,000 a year, job growth's about 7%. So what do you think about this one? I love this one Shane, because this one is basically, you think about a computer systems analyst, these guys are consultants. These guys are the ones that are working and understanding new technologies, not doing deep dives on this technology, understanding the code level, but they can, right? But they really understand how to make systems work together. And therefore you can go into sales. So I think this is a fantastic role that exists out there for individuals who want to stay on the latest and greatest technology, who like to help people solve problems and who wants to make a lot of money. Computer systems analyst. I love this one. Got it. And then number 20 on the list, network and computer systems administrator. Medium annual salary is going to be about $84,000. Job growth is 5%, which is slower than average. So what are your thoughts on this one? I like this one too. I like this one for people in their early careers because, you know, you're somewhat of a jack of all trades. You're, you know, helping with, you know, the network, you're helping with a little bit of cybersecurity, you're helping with printer installations and computer patches and so forth. This is a jack of all trades role, and you can gain a good foundation in information technology from this sort of a role. So I like it. And as it continues to, as technology continues to change, you're going to learn more about it. So this is another one that I like. Now the numbers aren't as good as computer system analysts because probably you're not customer facing, but this one is a really good role as well to Shane that I give a thumbs up on too. All right. Number 21 on the list is going to be mobile application developer. Median annual salary here is going to be $84,000 a year. The job growth is not listed, but a pretty, pretty good job growth I'd say here. What are your thoughts on this one? I like this one, Shane, but what I would say is mobile applications are starting to be easier to build, meaning that a lot of this stuff is requiring no code. You see a lot of companies creating no code software and so forth. So this one is starting to fall further and further down the list for me. But if you like to work on mobile applications and you want to work on video games or cell phone games or whatever it is, this is a good one. It will help you with creativity and learn a whole bunch of problem solving skills. So another good career. I don't want to knock it, but this one isn't as high on the list as some of the other ones that we talked about. Got it. And then number 22 on the list, web designer and specifically UI UX designer. You can specialize in one or the other or both. And median annual salary here is going to be $82,000 a year. So this is one that I typically like to recommend to people who have their heart set on getting into an art related career. Their mind is just made up. They're going to do their career as an art related career. And this is one that I tell them to look into. So what are your thoughts on this one? I love this one too, Shane, for the simple fact of what you said. This is for people who graduate with a liberal arts degree or a degree where they may not understand how to use it. Well, if you become a web designer, specifically in UI and UX, you can help people with the layouts of web pages and so forth. Right. And one of the things is that's very important is the interaction that people have with the technologies that they're experiencing. And you will be a person that's helping with that. So that's art in itself. That's a good understanding of details and so forth. I like this one. I like this one for people who want to get into tech that have a different sort of a mindset and arts and liberal arts sort of a I wouldn't say I would say somewhat of an eclectic sort of a mindset, which really translates into this sort of a role. Got it. And then number twenty three on the list. Very similar to one that we already talked about, which is web developer. Seventy seven thousand dollars a year. Job growth is 13 percent, which is faster than average. Do you have any thoughts on this one? I love this one because it's a low barrier of entry chain. You don't know. You no longer need a degree for many of this with these careers that we talked about or these roles that we talked about. Specifically for this one, you can become a web developer, self-study boot camps and so forth. So I love this one for the low barrier of entry. And not only that, when you get into a role like this, you will be able to expand in your career into technology because you're going to be learning a lot of different things and working with different people. So I like this one a lot. So and I recommend for people who don't know where they want to go, this will give you a good foundation as well to got it. And then another one with a pretty low barrier to entry number twenty four on the list is going to be data analyst. This one seventy three thousand dollars a year median annual salary and then doesn't show the job growth. But I know the growth is very, very high for this one. So what are your thoughts? I love this one. I love this one. Data is the new oil. And what I would say is this, is that you see that this is a role that's constantly being recruited for. I have many people who are asking me about the data analyst role. You think about these guys, they are consultants as well, but they're consultants really on interpreting data and making stories out of data and so forth. And this broken translate into many other roles as a database admin or a database developer or a data scientist and so forth. So I like this role. Low barrier entry as well, like Shane mentioned, and you get paid a good amount of money. Got it. All right. Well, that's the list. Yeah. Antoine and I were both pretty impressed with this list because it kind of got a little deeper than most of the listicles you see out there on the Internet. Career Karma is a good website. Definitely go check them out. Also check out Antoine's channel, Black Heights. I will put that down in the description below. All right. Well, those are some great careers that we went over. Definitely some other ones that I'm seeing a lot of opportunity in as well. They didn't really talk too much about cloud. I think there's a ton of opportunity in cloud, just like this, just like different cloud related careers. They might not even have a name at this point, but companies like these roles are popping up at companies. That's definitely where I see a ton of opportunity in the future as well. But yeah, great careers on here. These are good ones to look into. Some of them are a little bit more analytical. Some of them are a little bit more customer facing where you're actually interacting with people. And depending on your skills and your strengths and your weaknesses or what your passions are, what you enjoy doing, some of them are going to be better than others. But this is a really good list. Definitely check it out. I'll link that down in the description below as well. Thanks for watching the video. And I will link to an interview that I did with Antoine right here. I'll have that pop up right here. So definitely go check that out.