For many, the notion of a job in tech is both highly appealing and highly intimidating. It is appealing because that’s where the big money is, the best startups, and the brightest futures. And it’s intimidating because most who don’t consider themselves tech-savvy imagine themselves having to somehow learn to code in their car before the interview, or go back to school to study machine learning. But tech companies are nuts-and-bolts businesses just like any other, and there are plenty of jobs at top tech companies that don’t require any specific technical skills and that also can translate well from experience at non-tech companies.
Purpose of the study
Comparably has produced 15 of the most popular jobs in the tech sector for non-techies, according to the anonymous salary records of U.S. employees in the tech industry, along with a snapshot of total compensation for each title (average base salary and bonus). Please note it does not include stock or equity. From there, we looked at whether there is salary disparity between genders, how different ethnicities fare in terms of compensation at those jobs, and – finally – which cities offer the best paychecks for these titles. Full methodology at end of report.
| Rank | Job Title | Job Description | Skills Required | Average Salary* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sales Manager | Focused on generating revenue by overseeing the distribution of products and services to customers. Coaches a team of sales reps and account managers, assigning sales territories and setting quotas. | Leadership skills, performance management, coaching, sales experience. Recommended schooling: Bachelor’s degree in business or related field of industry. |
$117,344
(Base: $85,361 + Bonus: $31,983)
|
| 2 | Business Development Manager | Develops bigger picture relationships and strategic partnerships with other organizations. Hybrid of sales and marketing. Facilitates business growth and marketing opportunities. | Interpersonal skills, great written and verbal communications. Prior experience in sales and marketing. Recommended schooling: Bachelor’s degree in business or marketing. MBA preferred. |
$116,172
(Base: $95,384 + Bonus: $20,788)
|
| 3 | Sales Representative | Responsible for selling products and services to new customers, meeting quotas set by company. Hunt for new business and find new prospects by emailing and cold-calling. | Experience in sales, excellent verbal and written communication, and persuasion skills. Recommended schooling: Bachelor’s degree in business or related field of industry. |
$109,282
(Base: $69,904 + Bonus: $39,378)
|
| 4 | Human Resources Manager | Focused on hiring and onboarding new employees, as well as benefits management and driving good workplace culture. | Good communication and negotiation skills, people skills. Recommended schooling: Bachelor’s degree in human resources or related field. |
$101,269
(Base: $93,131 + Bonus: $8,138)
|
| 5 | Recruiter | Scouts for new tech talent, negotiates salaries, and places them in the jobs where they will have the most impact. Recruiters also represent companies at job fairs. | Written and verbal communication, negotiation, analytics, and critical thinking skills. Recommended schooling: Bachelor’s degree in human resources or related field. |
$93,874
(Base: $85,074 + Bonus: $8,800)
|
| 6 | Operations Manager | Ensures that an organization’s internal operations are running efficiently to meet expectations of the company’s leaders, customers, and clients. | Strong organizational and operations skills. Recommended schooling: Bachelor’s degree in business administration or related field. |
$92,660
(Base: $84,534 + Bonus: $8,126)
|
| 7 | Account Manager | Focused on key client relationships. Develop strong relationships with current customers and key business stakeholders, answer client questions, and identify opportunities to retain current clients. | Value based selling, customer service centric, negotiation. Recommended schooling: Bachelor’s degree in business or industry-related field. |
$88,700
(Base: $71,243 + Bonus: $17,457)
|
| 8 | Marketing Manager | Develops and executes promotional strategy that may include online marketing or physical events, designed to attract and retain more customers. Works closely with PR, product, and sales. | Experience in online marketing, social media, events, and written communication skills. Recommended schooling: Bachelor’s degree in marketing, PR, or related field of industry, MBA preferred. |
$87,448
(Base: $81,359 + Bonus: $6,089)
|
| 9 | Business Analyst | Uses deep understanding of an organization’s processes to plot a course for the company, based on suggestions by stockholders and business leaders. | Communication, problem-solving, analysis, and relationship building skills. Recommended schooling: Bachelor’s degree in business, math, or related field, MBA preferred. |
$83,770
(Base: $78,575 + Bonus: $5,195)
|
| 10 | Public Relations Manager | Creates and maintains a favorable public image for a company through communications programs that shape public perception to increase awareness of the organization’s work, its executives, and goals. | Strong written and verbal communications skills. Recommended schooling: Bachelor’s degree in communications or PR. |
$83,329
(Base: $79,357 + Bonus: $3,972)
|
| 11 | Copywriter/Content Writer | Produces written content for online and print materials with a focus on storytelling to address brand needs across a wide spectrum. Works closely with PR and marketing. | High-level English language capability, large vocabulary, research, writing and grammar skills, and a knack for understanding different points of view. Recommended schooling: Bachelor’s degree in English, writing or communications. |
$68,197
(Base: $66,432 + Bonus: $1,765)
|
| 12 | Customer Service Manager | Provides support and handles complaints from customers to retain and acquire new customers. | Clear communication, time management, empathy, patience, and listening skills, experience in customer service, product knowledge. Recommended schooling: Associate’s degree in related field. |
$70,093
(Base: $64,927 Bonus: $5,166)
|
| 13 | Accountant | Responsible for examining, measuring and analyzing a company’s financial records to produce data such as tax returns, budgets, and financial reports. | Math, analytics, and problem-solving skills. Recommended schooling: Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, or mathematics. |
$63,393 (Base: $60,447 + Bonus: $2,946)
|
| 14 | Social Media Manager | Monitors an organization’s social media platforms and posts announcements to raise brand awareness and drive traffic online through concise messaging and creative visuals. Works closely with PR and marketing. | Writing and grammar skills, social media expertise, ability to communicate creatively to different audiences. Recommended schooling: Bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications, or new media. |
$63,309
(Base: $61,396 + Bonus: $1,913)
|
| 15 | Office Manager | Organizes general office procedures and operations, including overseeing correspondence, prepping payroll, reviewing supply orders, and designing filing systems. | Communication, negotiation, organization, adaptability, planning, and time management skills. Experience managing an office or retail store. Recommended schooling: Associate’s degree in related field. |
$58,884
(Base: $56,250 + Bonus: $2,634)
|
*Average salaries include base pay and bonus only (does not include equity or stock).
| Job Title | Women | Men |
|---|---|---|
| Sales Manager | $92,185 | $124,022 |
| Business Development Manager | $113,923 | $120,310 |
| Sales Representative | $95,406 | $113,921 |
| Human Resources Manager | $96,713 | $111,402 |
| Recruiter | $88,323 | $104,449 |
| Operations Manager | $86,504 | $95,515 |
| Account Manager | $84,228 | $95,806 |
| Marketing Manager | $82,984 | $90,649 |
| Business Analyst | $81,791 | $84,400 |
| Public Relations Manager | $83,237 | $84,067 |
| Copywriter/Content Writer | $66,647 | $71,875 |
| Customer Service Manager | $64,056 | $75,241 |
| Social Media Manager | $62,848 | $63,044 |
| Accountant | $60,466 | $64,632 |
| Office Manager | $54,852 | $64,836 |
- For evidence of the ongoing gender pay gap in tech – even for jobs that don’t require tech skills – note that menmake more on average than women for every job in this study.
- The jobs with the closest salary parity are in communications-focused roles: Social Media Manager and PR Manager.
- The worst salary discrepancies are in revenue-based roles: Sales Manager and Sales Rep.
| Job Title | African-American | Hispanic / Latino | Asian/Pacific Islander | Caucasian | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales Manager | $76,455 | $106,821 | $119,290 | $119,151 | $119,277 |
| Business Development Manager | $88,809 | $112,097 | $128,669 | $117,436 | $130,245 |
| Sales Representative | $85,043 | $92,832 | $114,454 | $114,039 | $106,155 |
| HR Manager | $94,010 | $105,722 | $115,939 | $98,725 | $112,365 |
| Recruiter | $92,323 | $90,443 | $104,350 | $94,550 | $101,868 |
| Operations Manager | $80,149 | $92,817 | $113,107 | $90,121 | $97,794 |
| Account Manager | $72,753 | $87,817 | $91,193 | $91,004 | $86,846 |
| Marketing Manager | $81,443 | $88,620 | $104,433 | $84,926 | $84,727 |
| Business Analyst | $76,764 | $79,253 | $89,822 | $82,290 | $86,345 |
| PR Manager | $90,666 | $82,515 | $89,317 | $82,544 | $80,976 |
| Copywriter/Content Writer | $63,042 | $65,000 | $71,625 | $68,549 | $77,990 |
| Customer Service Manager | $57,382 | $71,276 | $85,632 | $70,634 | $64,638 |
| Social Media Manager | $57,512 | $56,182 | $71,086 | $63,235 | $64,413 |
| Accountant | $54,120 | $59,335 | $65,921 | $60,898 | $70,789 |
| Office Manager | $54,515 | $57,853 | $60,851 | $59,255 | $66,665 |
- Asian/Pacific Islanders make the highest salaries in 10 of the 15 roles with the exception of Business Development Manager, Accountant, Office Manager, PR Manager, and Copywriter.
- Caucasian workers were not the highest-paid for any of the 12 roles, though they follow closely behind Asian/Pacific Islanders in most roles. In four roles (HR Manager, Operations Manager, Marketing Manager, and Customer Service Manager) they were 3rdplace earners behind Hispanic/Latinos.
- For 9 of the 12 roles, African-American employees make the least compensation of any ethnicity group, with the exception of PR Manager (here they are the highest paid of all ethnicities), as well as Recruiter and Social Media Manager (earning more than Hispanic/Latinos).
- Hispanic/Latinos receive close to pay parity with Caucasians in the roles of PR Manager and Accountant. They even earn more than Caucasians in the roles of Operations Manager, HR Manager and Customer Service Manager.
- The “other” designation, which refers to employees who preferred not to identify with any single ethnicity, were the highest-paid in four roles: Business Development Manager, Copywriter, Accountant, and Office Manager.
- The most egregious example of pay disparity exists in the role of Sales Manager, where African-Americans make far less than Caucasians and Asians, as well as Hispanic/Latinos.
Compensation by location (average base pay + bonus)
- The role of Sales Manager and Sales Rep are the only two titles that earn six figure salaries across every city in this study. Business Development Manager earned six figures in every city except Salt Lake City.
- The San Francisco/Bay Area dominates for having the highest earners in all roles with the exception of Business Development Managers in Seattle, PR Managers in Austin, and Sales Reps in DC.
- The Top 3 highest paying jobs in each city are tied to Sales (Sales Manager, Business Development Manager, and Sales Rep) with the exception of Salt Lake City where the top earners are Sales Manager, Sales Rep, and Operations Manager.
- For 8 out of 12 roles, workers earned the least in SLC (the lowest salary is for Office Managers here) with the exception of PR Manager, Customer Service Manager, Social Media Manager, and Copywriter.
Methodology
- Data is derived from the salary records of 21,936 employees in non-technical jobs at tech companies across the U.S. between July 29, 2018 through July 29, 2019.
- Salaries shown are averages for workers of all education levels, genders, ethnicities, and years of experience.
- Employees hail from small, mid-size, and large tech companies (VC-funded, privately-held, and public.)
About Comparably
Comparably is an online career destination for compensation and workplace culture data with a mission to make work dramatically more transparent and rewarding. Employees can anonymously and publically rate their company culture and access salary data through the lens of specific demographics, including gender, ethnicity, age, location, years of experience, company size, title/department, and education. With the most comprehensive and structured data in the industry, it has accumulated 10 million ratings and hundreds of thousands of salary records by employees at 50,000 U.S. companies, from startups to Fortune 50 businesses. The company’s data-driven approach has quickly made it a trusted media resource for salary and workplace culture, and one of the fastest-growing SaaS solutions for employer branding. For more information, go to Comparably.com. For workplace culture and salary studies, including Comparably’s annual Best Places to Work and Best CEOs awards, go to Comparably.com/blog.
