Hottest jobs, industries and cities for IT pay in 2015

There's good news in Computerworld's IT Salary Survey results this year: As the economy has continued to improve in the past 12 months, so has the number of respondents reporting a raise. This year 67% of respondents reported a raise, with only 4% reporting a pay cut, compared with 60% reporting a raise and 8% reporting a pay cut in 2014.

What's more, for the first time since the economic downturn, we're seeing significant year-over-year gains in IT compensation. Total average compensation (including salary and bonus) is up 3.6% in 2015, versus 2.0% in 2014. This year, average salaries increased 3.6%, and average bonuses increased 4.6%.

Read the full report: Computerworld IT Salary Survey 2015

But those with the right IT roles who work in the right industries located in the right metro regions reported even stronger gains in pay. Following are the 10 job titles from all levels -- senior management, middle management and staff positions -- that saw the highest percentage increases in total compensation:

Hottest IT job titles 2015

JOB TITLE CHANGE IN AVERAGE TOTAL COMPENSATION 2014-2015
Chief security officer +6.7%
Information security manager +5.3%
Network engineer +5.2%
Technician +5.0%
Database administrator +4.6%
Chief information officer +4.6%
Software engineer +4.2%
Vice president of IT +4.2%
Project leader +4.1%
Application developer +3.9%
Source: Computerworld's IT Salary Survey 2015. Base: 4,863 respondents.
Analysis includes job titles with a base size of at least 50 respondents. Total compensation includes salary and bonus.

Survey respondents who work in the automotive industry reported the biggest bumps in pay, followed by those in the retail, wholesale and finance. Here are the 10 industries that saw the highest percentage increases in total compensation:

Hottest industries for IT pay 2015

INDUSTRY CHANGE IN AVERAGE TOTAL COMPENSATION 2014-2015
Automotive +6.8%
Retail trade +5.2%
Wholesale trade +4.7%
Finance/accounting +4.6%
Legal/insurance/real estate +4.3%
Entertainment/marketing/advertising +4.3%
Health/medical services +4.1%
Banking +4.1%
Energy/utilities +3.9%
Transportation/logistics +3.9%
Source: Computerworld's IT Salary Survey 2015. Base: 4,863 respondents.
Analysis includes industries with a base size of at least 50 respondents. Total compensation includes salary and bonus.

As any real estate agent can attest, location is paramount. Boston, No. 2 on last year's hot list, jumped to the top of the list with the highest average increase in total compensation in 2015. The Detroit metro area also saw a significant improvement year-over-year, jumping from No. 7 in 2014 to No. 2 in 2015, while San Francisco, No. 6 in 2014, upped its ranking to No. 3 on this year's list.

Following are the 10 metro regions where survey respondents reported the highest percentage increases in pay:

Hottest metro regions for IT pay 2015

METRO REGION CHANGE IN AVERAGE TOTAL COMPENSATION 2014-2015
Boston +5.2%
Detroit +5.0%
San Francisco +4.6%
Minneapolis/St. Paul +4.5%
Atlanta +4.1%
Seattle +4.1%
Chicago +4.0%
Phoenix +3.9%
New York City +3.9%
St. Louis +3.9%
Source: Computerworld's IT Salary Survey 2015. Base: 4,863 respondents.
Analysis includes metro regions with a base size of at least 50 respondents. Total compensation includes salary and bonus.

Percentages are all well and good, but how about some dollar amounts? It depends on which specific job title you're looking at, of course, but manufacturing pays the highest for a CIO-level exec, while education is the most miserly when it comes to help desk/tech support specialists.

Here's a look at the total compensation of a sampling of popular IT job titles by industry:

A sampling of IT pay by industry

INDUSTRY AVERAGE TOTAL COMPENSATION IN 2015
COMPUTER SERVICES/CONSULTING
  CIO/vice president of IT $151,419
  Director of IT $147,763
  Software engineer $110,409
  IT manager $96,758
  Systems administrator $77,643
  Help desk/technical support specialist $48,463
EDUCATION
  CIO/vice president of IT $149,597
  Director of IT $92,732
  IT manager $77,281
  Systems administrator $63,761
  Help desk/technical support specialist $45,741
  Technician $42,224*
GOVERNMENT
  Director of IT $94,786
  Application developer $87,457*
  IT manager $86,455
  Systems administrator $69,336
  Network administrator $67,961*
  Help desk/technical support specialist $58,664*
HEALTHCARE
  CIO/vice president of IT $181,341
  Director of IT $116,563
  Network engineer $93,982*
  IT manager $92,445
  Systems administrator $73,356
  Help desk/technical support specialist $52,485
LEGAL & INSURANCE
  CIO/vice president of IT $184,508*
  Director of IT $128,566*
  IT manager $114,390
  Systems analyst $89,029**
  Application developer $83,830**
  Help desk/technical support specialist $56,615*
MANUFACTURING
  CIO/vice president of IT $197,025*
  Director of IT $137,108
  IT manager $95,321
  Systems administrator $70,922
  Network administrator $66,478*
  Help desk/technical support specialist $53,039*
* More than 15 responses but fewer than 30.
** 15 or fewer responses.
Source: Computerworld's IT Salary Survey 2015. Base: 4,863 respondents.
Total compensation includes salary and bonus.

Don't see your job title? Check out our Smart Salary Tool to see how your paycheck stacks up to those with similar titles and experience levels in your own region or across the U.S.

Next: IT Salary Survey 2015: Highlights

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Copyright © 2015 IDG Communications, Inc.

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