Tech jobs are one of the highest-paying jobs in the world. Here is a list of the 14 top-paying tech jobs in America in 2016, according Glassdoor.

Rank

Job

Median Base Salary

Openings

#1

Research & Development Manager

$142,120

112

#2

Software Development Manager

$132,000

3,495

#3

Software Architect

$128,250

655

#4

IT Manager

$120,000

3,152

#5

Solutions Architect

$120,000

2,838

#6

Application Development Manager

$120,000

263

#7

Systems Architect

$116,920

439

#8

Data Scientist

$115,000

1,985

#9

Creative Director

$115,000

696

#10

Data Architect

$113,000

762

#11

Product Manager

$107,000

7,758

#12

Design Manager

$106,500

510

#13

Analytics Manager

$106,000

988

#14

Information Systems Manager

$106,000

147

As you can see from the above list, the Product Manager openings are more plentiful than any other job, followed by Software Development Manager and IT Manager.

In another report published by Forbes (original source Indeed) that did not include management positions, the Software Architect positon is the highest-paying job in America. Here is a list of the top 10 highest-paying tech jobs in America in 2016.

Rank

Job

Salary

1

Software Architect

$116,267

2

Data Scientist

$109,399

3

DevOps Engineer

$106,045

4

Software Engineer

$98,304

5

Java Developer

$98,304

6

Mobile Developer

$96,133

7

Frontend Developer

$92,133

8

Software Developer

$87,185

9

Database Admin

$87,025

10

.NET Developer

$83,936

OK, now let’s take a look at the typical path of a software professional.

Student -> Programmer -> Developer -> Tech Lead -> PM/Architect -> IT/Product Manager -> CTO/CIO -> CEO.

In this path, each title means more experience and better salary. That obviously means, a CTO gets paid much more than a programmer. An article published on MUO lists 6 of the Best Paying Tech Careers for 2016 of MUO.

Now, this list looks very realistic.

Here is a list of the six top-paid CTOs and their salaries.

Impact on salaries

Salaries of tech jobs vary based on location, company, skillset, and need. The need is actually one of the most important factors. If a company needs a C# programmer and they can’t find a suitable candidate within their salary range, they will pay a premium for that. If a developer is also a product manager, even if he or she still writes ruby code, he or she may get an additional bonus. A Java developer in New York makes almost twice as much as one somewhere in a small town in Ohio.

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