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Computerworld - Not all IT jobs are created equal. According to Computerworld's 2010 Salary Survey, an IT worker in the defense industry, for example, could be earning as much as 4% more than a peer in a similar job in the the retail sector.

The survey showed the top 5 industries for IT pay were defense/aerospace (overall compensation up 2.9%), biotechnology (up 2.2%), government (up 1.8%), education (up 1.4%) and health/medical services (up 1.4%).

The industries that had the biggest decreases in total compensation were mining/agriculture/construction (down 2.5%), wholesale trade (down 2.0%), transportation/logistics (down 1.6%), noncomputer manufacturing (down 1.4%) and retail trade (down 1.0%).

The defense/aerospace industry saw bonuses increase by 19% with a salary increase of 2.2%. Also, in the government sector, bonuses increased by 13% with a salary increase of 1.5%.

The largest average decreases in bonuses were in the industries of mining/agriculture/construction (down 19.0%), banking (down 17.9%), transportation/logistics (down 17.4%), legal/insurance/real estate (down 13.2%), wholesale trade (down 12.9%), telecommunications (down 12.5%) and the retail trade industry (down 10.8%).

Here's a sampling of IT job titles and industries, and corresponding pay for each:

Computer services/consulting

• IT manager: $102,075
• Project manager: $98,650
• Software engineer: $88,964
• Systems administrator: $76,724
• Software developer: $76,156
• Help desk/tech support specialist: $61,354

Education

• CIO/vice president of IT*: $150,861
• Director of IT: $95,824
• IT manager: $70,914
• Systems administrator: $63,520
• Network administrator*: $58,384
• Help desk/tech support specialist: $43,864

Government

• CIO/vice president of IT*: $134,325
• Director of IT: $101,997
• IT manager: $79,613
• Systems administrator: $77,663
• Network administrator*: $70,059
• Help desk/tech support specialist*: $53,439

Legal & insurance

• CIO/vice president of IT*: $180,137
• Director of IT*: $119,800
• Systems architect*: $112,422
• IT manager: $101,757
• Programmer/analyst*: $79,052
• Systems administrator*: $72,996

Health care

• CIO/vice president of IT: $166,092
• Director of IT: $107,146
• IT manager: $87,874
• Systems analyst*: $74,004
• Systems administrator*: $68,612
• Help desk/tech support specialist*: $45,719

Manufacturing

• CIO/vice president of IT*: $179,269
• Director of IT: $139,151
• Project manager: $104,846
• IT manager: $89,463
• Network administrator: $58,513
• Help desk/tech support specialist: $52,624

* More than 15 responses but fewer than 30

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