What Are The Best Paying Jobs in Tech in 2022?

The tech industry has been expanding extensively in the last few decades, leading to many opportunities for novice and knowledgeable talent. However, off late, from upcoming startups to established marquee IT companies, the attrition has been quite high.

Gartner expects the annual voluntary turnover rate to jump from 31.9 million to 37.4 million, which offers a glimmer of hope.

Why? Vacancies lead to openings, and that means skilled performers in the Tech space have a glorious chance at grabbing meaty positions with better wages. Yes, some roles are a bit more daunting than others, and that's why it comes with a hefty paycheck. And today I'm going to explore some of the best jobs in tech that bring in more dough. Let’s get started!

Top 5 Best Paying Jobs in Tech

DevOps Engineer: DevOps Engineers work with Software Engineers, systems admins, and other IT resources to ensure the smooth functioning of IT operations through code implementation and regular updates. They handle efficient collaboration between various departments, besides creating, implementing, and maintaining different software systems.

1) Salary: According to Glassdoor, a DevOps Engineer makes around $141,200 per year. DevOps Engineers oversee IT structure management, software coding, protocol testing, troubleshooting, performance issues, and other complexities. Considering the workload, they manage all year-round at an alarming pace to ensure everything stays up and running, it makes sense to see why they earn what they earn.

2) Education: A DevOps Engineer needs to have a background in Software
Engineering or Computer Science. They need to bring significant knowledge of PHP, Python, Ruby, C++, or Java, besides being familiar with coding, scripting, testing, and integration. Plus, have a sound understanding of virtualization technologies, CI/CD tools, and a range of IT management and monitoring tools.

3) Responsibilities: DevOps Engineer will need to pull off a range of activities, such as design and improve the overall state of the IT infrastructure, manage IT projects, detect errors and technical snags, ensure security best practices, optimize release cycles, and benchmark the systems for optimum performance. Outside of this, they perform the following tasks as well:

• Writing and improving code for deployment and testing
• Deal with automation and maintenance to mitigate any manual effort
• Streamline processes and operations with reduced risks to increase productivity
• Connect application elements, like libraries, APIs, and software development kits (SDKs)
• Help with change management by evaluating existing systems and upcoming risks
• Coordinate with different IT heads and system administrators to ensure proper deliverability

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineer: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineers are responsible for building and deploying AI capabilities in an organization. They work with data scientists to collate data from disparate data sources, curate the same, visualize, and draw insights from it. The graph shows the growing popularity of AI and how that could raise the demand for AI Engineers.

Source: https://www.statista.com/chart/6810/the-future-of-ai/

1) Salary: According to Glassdoor, an Artificial Intelligence Engineer makes around $118,957 per year. The wage is justified considering the amount of learning and skills required to address the complex programming in every AI-related task.

2) Education: An Artificial Intelligence Engineer is required to have a
Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Statistics, Mathematics, Data
Science, or any other related field with coding at the core. The candidate must also bring a strong familiarity with Python, R, C++, Prolog, and Java to excel in this field.

3) Responsibilities: Artificial Intelligence Engineers are required to develop
Machine Learning (ML) algorithms to analyze raw data, build data models,
perform testing, and perform statistical analysis. Outside of this, they must
fulfill the following tasks as well:

• Build AI models from scratch that assist various departments in a company
• Convert ML models into Application Programming interfaces (APIs) for other applications
• Work with data lakes and data warehouses to manage large volumes of data
• Develop data transformation and data ingestion system
• Analyze, extract, and visualize data in real-time to make informed decisions

Data Scientist: A Data Scientist, assisted by sophisticated analytical tools, would utilize their critical thinking and problem-solving skills to analyze large amounts of raw information. The analysis helps to detect patterns and extract valuable insights that they would present through visualization techniques and share with the stakeholders to improve a company’s performance.

1) Salary: According to Glassdoor, a Data Scientist makes around $117,212 per year. A Data Scientist is required to deal with complex data models, advanced algorithms, and analytics. The right data scientist possessing astute knowledge of database migration, database modeling, etc. could very well command such a high salary.

2) Education: Besides a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Data
Scientists also need to know programming languages like Python, R, and database query languages like Hive, SQL, and more. Data Scientists also require a sound knowledge of visualization tools like Tableau, Visual.ly, Google Charts, and more. Furthermore, they must be familiar with math and statistics.

3) Responsibilities: A data Scientist is responsible for compiling and analyzing data from disparate sources according to pre-set objectives, creating predictive models, and reporting the acquired insights to key decision-makers. Aside from all this, they will also have the following responsibilities:

• Data mining for valuable data from numerous sources
• Process, clean, and validate the structured and unstructured data
• Analyze large volumes of data and draw meaningful inferences
• Develop AI and ML algorithms and prediction systems to automate data analysis
• Centralize and archive the data as per regulatory standards

Cloud Engineer: Considering Cloud Engineers are responsible for the end-to-end support - from planning to maintenance, and implementation, it makes sense to take home a considerably higher paycheck. The testing, delivery, and day-to-day operations on Cloud are no cakewalk.

1) Salary: According to Glassdoor, a Cloud Engineer makes around $111,165 per year. Considering Cloud Engineers are responsible for the end-to-end support, from planning to maintenance, it makes sense to have a considerably higher figure.The testing, delivery, and hands-on approach toward day-to-day operations on Cloud are no cakewalk.

2) Education: A Cloud Engineer must have a Bachelor’s degree in Computer System Engineering or any other relevant degree in Computer Science. The candidate must have a sound knowledge of programming languages such as Python, C#, and Java. A cloud certification and a strong understanding of various operating systems are also mandatory.

3) Responsibilities: A Cloud Engineer will evaluate the cloud applications,
hardware, and software according to the business needs. Furthermore, they must create a comprehensive strategy and oversee the adaptation process. They would also need to manage the servers, network, and storage, besides the following responsibilities:

• Handle the cloud infrastructure – from design to development
• Identify gaps and develop fit-for-purpose technologies
• Assist with deployment and migration strategies
• Monitor cloud privacy along with the IT security team
• Address all the stability and performance issues timely
• Document cloud processes, rules, and standards

Software Architect: A Software architect is responsible for managing a team of developers to code, design, and deploy an organization’s tech solutions. A software architect would figure out and orchestrate the entire project to address a business problem through the right technology. Software architects research and figure out a tailor-made solution for your unique business needs.

1) Salary: According to Glassdoor, a Software Architect earns around $110,157 per year. Even though it is the lowest in the list I have put together, it is still pretty high compared to what an average talent makes in the United States.

2) Education: To get recruited as a Software Architect, ensure you have a bachelor’s degree in Software Engineering or Computer Science. Furthermore, you’d need a broad and deep understanding of programming in various languages. Candidates must also have managerial experience on high-value projects involving different platforms, tools, and coding standards.

3) Responsibilities: A software architect does the groundwork, identifies improvement opportunities, lays the implementation roadmap, identifies the value drivers & project methodology, and recommends the right solution along the essential business metrics. Software Architect helps select the best fit solution that will scale and evolve with your business needs.

• Develops project vision and ensures the objectives align with the overall strategy
• Oversee the entire software development design and development from start to finish
• Define the design and architecture principles to prepare the project’s technical guides
• Analyze the technical needs to finalize the best technologies, tools, and standards
• Assign tasks, coordinate, prioritize, mentor, negotiate and lead the team to success

Conclusion

If you are in the IT domain, there are a lot of high-paying opportunities. You could at any point learn new languages and pick up some soft skill lessons online to elevate your resume. Holding the right set of skills, backed by certifications and relevant expertise, can help you to land that best paying job in a top-tier tech company.

Salary aside, ultimately, businesses want to select the most reliable talent for their projects. It won’t hurt to pay more if the candidate is competent, has the right skill set, carries a great deal of knowledge, and brings the right attitude.