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IT Careers: Ten Jobs, What They Pay, and the Route Into Each
IT careers fall into a few tracks: support, infrastructure, data, security, analysis and management. These ten jobs are the ones an online IT degree leads to most directly, with pay, outlook and the usual way in.
- 10 careers
- $61,860 to $175,140 median pay
- 5 growing faster than the 3.5% average
Key Points
- A shrinking job can still hire a lot: help desk technicians are projected at -3.5% yet average 39,700 openings a year. Network and systems administrators (-4.1%) still average 13,400, per BLS projections. Most openings come from people retiring or changing jobs, so a negative growth figure doesn't mean the door is closed.
- The ten careers here fall into 9 BLS job categories, and 7 of them typically start with a bachelor's degree. Network support specialists usually start with an associate degree, and help desk technicians with some college and no degree. Starting from scratch, an online associate degree can get you hired in support while you finish a bachelor's.
- A common path runs from help desk to network or systems administration to network engineering or security. The medians along the way are $61,860, then $99,130, then $134,050 for network engineers or $129,180 for security analysts. Each step up asks for more experience, and each career guide lays out what that job expects.
- Each track has a certification built around its main job. A+ covers help desk and support work, Network+ and CCNA for networking roles, and Security+ for security analysts. Pick the one that matches the job you want next, then look for a degree that builds it into the coursework.
- Information security analysts are the fastest-growing job here, projected at +21% through 2035. IT managers (+15.8%) and computer systems analysts (+7.9%) come next. For the most room to grow, a security focus is the clearest choice, and our online cybersecurity degrees ranking is the place to start.
- Among growing jobs you can enter with a new bachelor's degree, computer systems analysts have the most openings, 32,900 a year. They earn a $105,850 median, with +7.9% projected growth. IT managers have more openings still, but that job usually comes after years in a technical role.
Compare IT Careers by Job
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What IT Careers Look Like at Each Level
IT careers are not one ladder. They are several tracks that start at different places and sometimes cross. Support jobs sit at the bottom of the pay range and ask the least of you at the start. Administration, database, and analyst jobs sit in the middle and usually want a bachelor’s degree. Security and network architecture pay more and tend to ask for experience on top of the degree. Management pays the most and almost always comes after several years in one of the other tracks.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) groups these jobs under separate occupation codes, and we use those codes for every pay and outlook figure on this site. The pay figures are median annual wages from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for May 2025. The growth and openings figures come from the Employment Projections for 2025 to 2035. A median is the midpoint, so half of workers in the job earn more and half earn less. Each career page below shows the full spread from the bottom 10% to the top 10%.
IT Careers Compared by Pay, Growth, and Entry Education
This table puts the ten jobs side by side. Click any job name to read how to become one.
| Career | Median pay | Projected change, 2025 to 2035 | Annual openings | Typical entry education |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Help desk technician | $61,860 | -3.5% | 39,700 | some college, no degree |
| Network support specialist | $76,220 | 1.2% | 9,000 | associate's degree |
| Network administrator | $99,130 | -4.1% | 13,400 | bachelor's degree |
| Systems administrator | $99,130 | -4.1% | 13,400 | bachelor's degree |
| Database administrator | $104,620 | -0.1% | 3,300 | bachelor's degree |
| Computer systems analyst | $105,850 | 7.9% | 32,900 | bachelor's degree |
| Network engineer | $134,050 | 7.7% | 9,600 | bachelor's degree |
| Information security analyst | $129,180 | 21% | 14,100 | bachelor's degree |
| Web developer | $92,650 | 3.8% | 5,300 | bachelor's degree |
| IT manager | $175,140 | 15.8% | 53,500 | bachelor's degree |
Three notes on reading it. First, network administrator and systems administrator share one BLS code (15-1244, Network and Computer Systems Administrators), so their two rows repeat one set of figures. Second, BLS has no code for network engineer, so that row uses Computer Network Architects (15-1241), the closest match. Third, the web developer row uses Web Developers (15-1254), which connects to this site because many online IT bachelor’s degrees offer a web development concentration.
Which IT Careers Are Growing and Which Are Shrinking
Never read “IT jobs are growing” as a single statement, because it isn’t one. The projections split the field. Information security analysts are projected to grow 21% through 2035, web developers 3.8%, computer and information systems managers 15.8%, computer systems analysts 7.9%, and network architects 7.7%.
Others are flat or shrinking. Computer user support specialists, the help desk job, are projected to change -3.5%, and network and computer systems administrators, the group that includes systems administrators, -4.1%. Database administrators are close to flat at -0.1%. Automation, cloud services, and self-service tools take over some of the routine work in these jobs.
That doesn’t mean the jobs vanish. Help desk work still has 39,700 openings a year and administrators have 13,400, because people retire, move up, or leave the field. If you want the shrinking occupations, you aren’t shut out. You are competing for fewer new positions and more replacement ones, and employers lean on whoever has both a credential and hands-on practice.
How to Start an IT Career with an Associate Degree
An associate degree gets you into support work. BLS says network support specialists typically enter with an associate degree, and user support specialists typically need some college coursework. If you want to be working within two years, this is the fastest degree route. You can earn it online, and the credits usually transfer into a bachelor’s program if you decide to continue.
The tradeoff is pay and ceiling. Support jobs have the lowest medians in the field, and the jump to administrator, analyst, or security usually requires the bachelor’s degree. Many people treat the associate degree as step one: finish it, take a help desk job, work toward a certification such as CompTIA A+, and finish the bachelor’s part time while employed. Our online IT associate degree ranking lists programs built for that path.
How a Bachelor’s Degree Opens Most IT Careers
For eight of the ten jobs here, BLS lists a bachelor’s degree as the typical entry education. That covers network and systems administrators, database administrators, systems analysts, network architects, security analysts, web developers, and IT managers. The usual major is computer and information technology or a related field such as engineering. Coursework covers programming, networking, databases, and systems design.
A bachelor’s degree is also what lets you move between tracks. Someone who starts in support can become a network administrator, then a security analyst, then a manager, and the degree is the common requirement at each step. For a list of online options, see our best online IT bachelor’s degrees. If your target is security specifically, the online cybersecurity degrees ranking narrows it down.
Where IT Certifications Fit Into IT Careers
Certifications show employers you can use a specific tool or know a specific topic. For support jobs, they can substitute for a degree: BLS notes that a high school diploma plus certifications can qualify you for computer support roles. For everything else, they sit on top of the degree. Employers commonly ask for certifications in the products they use, and many security employers prefer a security certification.
Three certifications come up most often for people starting out. CompTIA A+ covers support fundamentals, CompTIA Network+ covers networking, and Cisco CCNA covers routing and switching on Cisco equipment. Some online degrees fold certification prep into the coursework, which we track in our degrees with certifications ranking.
Choosing Between the Ten IT Careers
Pick by the work first and the pay second, because the pay differences are smaller than the daily differences. If you like fixing things for people, start with help desk or network support. If you like keeping systems running and don’t mind being on call, look at network or systems administration. If you like building websites and applications, web development fits, and many online IT bachelor’s degrees offer a concentration in it. If you like structured data and queries, database administration fits. If you like asking how a business uses its systems and where they fall short, systems analysis is closer. If you like finding weaknesses and responding to incidents, security is the track. If you like designing systems more than operating them, network engineering fits, though it usually takes several years of administrator experience first. Management suits people who want to lead a team and manage budgets and vendors.
Cost matters too. A bachelor’s degree is a bigger bill than an associate degree or a certification. Our cheapest online IT degrees ranking shows what the lower end looks like, and the salary pages show what each job pays at the 10th and 90th percentiles so you can judge whether the spend pays back.
How to Read the Pay and Outlook Numbers
Median pay is the midpoint of everyone in the job, so it describes a typical worker and not a starting offer. New graduates in most of these jobs start below the median, and experienced people in large metro areas or finance and tech employers earn well above it. Each career page shows the 10th and 90th percentile wages so you can see the range. The first number a recruiter quotes is usually closer to the lower end, and the higher numbers come with years, certifications, and specialization.
The projection numbers need the same care. A projected change of -3.5% for help desk work is a statement about total jobs in 2035 compared with 2025. It says nothing about how easy it is to get hired next year, and the 39,700 yearly openings are real. Treat the projections as one input, alongside what employers in your own area are posting.
What an Online IT Degree Adds to These IT Careers
Employers hiring for these jobs mostly care that you hold the credential and can do the work, and an online degree from an accredited school is a credential. The online format matters most for people who already work, since you can study around a job. Many IT students are exactly that: they hold a help desk or support job and are finishing a degree to move up.
When you compare programs, look at accreditation, whether the coursework matches the career you want, and total cost. Our ABET-accredited online IT degrees ranking and the list of programs by state are good places to narrow it down. The methodology page explains how we rank.
IT Careers FAQ
Which IT career pays the most?
Among the ten jobs on this page, computer and information systems managers have the highest median at $175,140, but the role usually follows several years in a technical job. Among jobs you can reach earlier, information security analysts have a median of $129,180, network architects have $134,050 and web developers have $92,650.
Can I start an IT career with only certifications?
For support work, yes. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says a high school diploma plus relevant certifications can qualify you for computer support roles. For administration, security, database, web development and analyst jobs, a bachelor's degree is the typical entry point, and certifications add to the degree instead of replacing it.
Is an associate degree enough for an IT job?
It is enough for support work. Network support specialists typically enter with an associate degree, and user support specialists typically need some college. An associate degree also transfers into a bachelor's, which is the route most people take toward administration, security, and analyst roles.
Are IT jobs growing?
It depends on the job. Information security analysts are projected to grow 21% from 2025 to 2035 and web developers 3.8%, while computer user support specialists are projected to change -3.5% and network administrators -4.1%. Even the shrinking occupations still have a large number of openings each year as people retire or change jobs.
What is the difference between a network administrator and a network engineer?
A network administrator runs and maintains the network already in place. A network engineer designs and builds it. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has no separate code for network engineers, so we use computer network architects as the closest match, and that role usually asks for several years of administrator experience first.
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