45 IT Salary Averages: Developer to Sys Admin

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What's the average IT paycheck like? This list covers average IT pay levels for jobs ranging from developer to system administrator.

The good news is that IT professionals continue to pull in some healthy paychecks, relative to other industries. In fact, the continued good IT salary levels are truly stellar in light of one piece of grim news: as many as 500,000 American and European IT jobs have been axed in the recession, according to the Hackett Group. That even in this brutal climate, the salary levels for some veteran IT professionals still leans toward six figures – and mid-level staffers are not worlds behind – testifies to the resilience of the IT profession.

The following list of IT salaries illustrates some overall trends. An IT project manager with more than 7 years of experience earns (on average) in the $100k range, while that same pro with just 2-4 years under their belt pulls in about $70k. An IT staffer who works for a big outfit makes more than his small business counterpart (for instance, an Enterprise Infrastructure Manager makes $108k). IT security professionals are perennially in demand, so the $102k annual salary for IS Security Managers is no surprise. And thought leaders, the people who actually envision IT systems, do quite well, hence the $108k for Systems Architects.

As for developers, their salary levels range wildly, from a newbie client server programmer, $54k, to an advanced Operating Systems Programmer, $105k. (Naturally location makes a big difference as well, with developers in big cities making far more).

The following list of IT salaries also reveals one other key fact: a fortunate few in any given IT job title command a substantially larger salary. Each of the salary charts plots pay levels on a bell curve, with the average IT staffers grouped in the middle. So, for instance, while the average IT Project Coordinator earns $88k, those in the top 10% pull in about $115k. These top earners tend to work, again, for larger companies, in hotter sectors within their niche, and often have great expertise in related areas.

All data courtesy: Salary.com, Inc., Data effective the 1st of November, 2010, www.salary.com.

More IT Salary figures:

DEVELOPERS: ENTRY/MID LEVEL // DEVELOPERS: SENIOR LEVEL // NETWORK ENGINEERS/ADMINISTRATORS // HELP DESK, SUPPORT–TRAINING // IT MANAGERS // PROJECT MANAGERS // DATABASE // SECURITY // SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATORS // LINUX - UNIX // SYSTEMS ANALYST / SYSTEMS ARCHITECT // IT MISC.

DEVELOPERS: ENTRY/MID LEVEL

Midrange Programmer, median salary: $48,935

Job Description for Midrange Programmer I

Reviews, analyzes, and modifies programming systems including encoding, testing, debugging and installing to support an organization's business applications. Gathers requirements from users and creates specifications and develops code. Designs and writes codes to support existing application. May require a bachelor's degree in a related area and 0-2 years of experience in the field or in a related area. Has knowledge of commonly-used concepts, practices, and procedures within a particular field. Relies on instructions and pre-established guidelines to perform the functions of the job. Works under immediate supervision. Primary job functions do not typically require exercising independent judgment. Typically reports to a project leader or manager.

Read the rest at Datamation.