The tech industry has been expanding pretty much non-stop for the past 40+ years.
Where once was an incredible niche field that only had any bearings on our lives as far as its very specific uses in government and development had, the tech industry has since ballooned into virtually every part of our lives.
As a consequence of this boom, the number of roles and jobs in the technology industry has also skyrocketed.
What was once just the field of a few computer engineers has exploded into a thousand different specialized roles that people can now make their entire careers in, replacing a whole range of vital older roles as the times and technologies change.
Gone are the days of word processors and switchboard operators, replaced now by software architects and engineers, or even replaced by the software itself.
With so many different jobs in the latest wave of technology becoming available, and even necessary, it can be a nightmare to try and figure out what jobs specifically have which role.
This is especially the case for many people who are looking to make their careers in technology and want to have some idea of what each of these jobs pays exactly.
Well, worry no more, tech entrepreneurs, for we have just the guide for you!
In this article, we are going to break down some of the most common roles in the tech industry, what they do, and how much they are roughly paid for these invaluable services.
Computer & Information Research Scientists
This is one of the most important research roles that you can currently find, especially in the field of computer science and computer system model research.
This job is pretty much exactly what it sounds like: scientists in this field develop new computing systems and technology, as well as develop new approaches to data storage as a whole.
Not only is this information invaluable in the world of technology and engineering, but thanks to the expansion of technology into other fields, many of their systems are utilized in medicine, business, and other fields of science as well.
The minimum qualification for these roles is usually a Master’s degree of some kind, but these roles pay well, with salaries often going above $118,370.
Software Engineer
Whereas the previous role was very much a combination of developing systems and approaches in computing models, software engineers are focused solely on the development of new types of software.
This is the programming that goes into most applications and systems that people use in virtually all walks of life, whether it is for an incredible niche, such as the marketing of a very specific product, or something as general and widely used as a social media interface app, such as Facebook or Slack.
Because software engineers are what make up the bulk of programming for all kinds of applications, there is virtually always a demand for new software engineers in the tech industry.
Software engineers are expected to usually have a bachelor’s degree in software, science, math, or some other related field, as well as experience with a variety of different software tools, such as Java, and their salaries are around $127,000 on average.
Computer Network Architects
In a world where information is more spread out than ever before, there has been an increasing focus on making sure that there are the right tools needed to reach all that data.
This is where the role of the computer network architects comes into focus.
A computer network architect’s role is to help create and build network communications systems that an organization or company will use for sharing information.
This can be in the form of Local Area networks (or LAN), Intranet systems for internal tools and communication sharing, as well as Wide Area Networks too (WAN) as well.
A network architect is responsible for making sure that a system can communicate with all members of itself, whether it is based in just a single office or multiple different sites.
A computer network architect will be expected to have some kind of bachelor’s qualification in a relevant field, whether it is data management, programming, or computer science, and will usually make up about $100,000 on average.
Systems Engineer
Of course, once a computing or communications system has been built and is put into use, the work does not stop there.
It will need individuals with the skills to help manage and fine-tune it once it is up and running. This is where system engineers come in.
System engineers will be the ones who will have to make sure that a company’s technical structures remain functional, whether that is with their hardware or software.
This means that a systems engineer is a multidisciplinary role to some extent, as well as requires analytical and judgment-making skills to identify and fix problems before or as they appear.
System engineers are expected to at least have a bachelor’s degree in a technical field of some kind and can earn anywhere from $60,000 to $130,000.
Computer Support Specialists
Whilst a system engineer’s role in a company is to keep everything running smoothly, a computer support specialist’s role is to make sure that everyone who is using that system understands how it works.
This is very much a computer-user relational role, where the support specialists will help users troubleshoot any issues that they may be having, which requires a great amount of understanding of the system that is currently being used as well as the ability to communicate that knowledge to others in a way everyone understands.
This is probably one of the most open roles, as the requirement is simply a bachelor’s degree, and the average salary is around $53,000.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, there are plenty of technology roles out there right now. All you have to do is find the right one for you.
