Tech jobs – and salaries – are on the rise. With demand for tech talent surging in areas such as AI and virtual reality, the median annual wage for computer and IT jobs is about $83,000 while the median household income is $59,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Hoping to get a sense of just how booming the tech sector is, Comparably (www.comparably.com) took a look at which jobs command pay in the range of $150,000 to $200,000 a year. The results come from an analysis of more than 9,000 anonymous salary records for workers at small, mid-size and large public and private U.S. tech companies. The data was collected between March 2016 and January 2018.
Figures shown represent median total compensation unless otherwise noted. Methodology below.
The results
| U.S. Median Compensation ($) | |||
| 1 | Engineering Manager | Sets goals and objectives for teams of engineers as they build systems and programs. | 150,000 |
| 2 | Principal Engineer | Oversees engineering projects with a focus on hiring, budgeting and scheduling. Often reports to engineering manager. | 150,000 |
| 3 | Senior Product Manager | Responsible for building, launching and updating software and digital products to meet user needs. | 150,000 |
| 4 | Group Engineering Manager | Manages all engineering projects in a given product group, focusing on identifying cost savings opportunities and improving product quality. | 155,000 |
| 5 | Director of Security (IT) | Responsible for safeguarding a company’s tools, systems and property. IT security and physical security are sometimes both handled by a single person. | 160,000 |
| 6 | Director of Product | Establishes the vision and development of a company’s products and manages the entire product team. | 170,000 |
| 7 | Director of Engineering | Lead engineering teams to create products that meet the company’s vision, paying close attention to timeliness and quality. | 175,000 |
| 8 | Group Product Manager | Usually appointed from a senior manager level, people in this role are responsible for overseeing a group of product managers. | 178,000 |
| 9 | VP of Operations | Responsible for developing strategies that result in broader efficiency and scale across the company. | 190,000 |
- VP of Operations earn $190,000 on average, putting it at the highest end of the spectrum.
- Engineering managers, principal engineers and senior product managers earn $150,000 on average.
- Data reflects workers of all experience levels, education levels, genders, ethnicities, and locations.
Compensation by gender
| Women | Men | ||
| Director of Engineering | 175,000 | 175,000 | |
| Director of Product | 165,000 | 170,000 | |
| Director of Security (IT) | 140,000 | 160,000 | |
| Engineering Manager | 150,000 | 155,000 | |
| Group Engineering Manager | 150,000 | 155,000 | |
| Group Product Manager | 164,000 | 183,000 | |
| Principal Engineer | 147,000 | 150,000 | |
| Senior Product Manager | 144,000 | 150,000 | |
| VP of Operations | 180,000 | 195,000 | |
- Men earned more than women in every job role except Director of Engineering, where they tied.
- Data reflects workers of all experience levels, education levels, ethnicities, and locations.
Compensation by ethnicity
| African American | Asian or Pacific Islander | Caucasian | Hispanic or Latino | Other | |
| Director of Engineering | 152,000 | 200,000 | 176,000 | 176,500 | 185,000 |
| Director of Product | 150,000 | 190,000 | 170,000 | 153,200 | 170,000 |
| Director of Security (IT) | 140,000 | 165,000 | 155,000 | 162,600 | 158,000 |
| Engineering Manager | 125,000 | 165,000 | 148,000 | 145,000 | 152,000 |
| Group Engineering Manager | 135,000 | 180,000 | 150,000 | 147,500 | 154,000 |
| Group Product Manager | 155,000 | 194,700 | 172,000 | 174,000 | 175,000 |
| Principal Engineer | 144,250 | 155,000 | 150,000 | 141,000 | 149,000 |
| Senior Product Manager | 150,000 | 154,000 | 150,000 | 150,000 | 150,000 |
| VP of Operations | 166,000 | 180,000 | 170,000 | 186,000 | 180,000 |
- African Americans earned the least in every category while Asians/Pacific Islanders earned the most.
- Data reflects workers of all experience levels, education levels, genders, and locations.
- Figures shaded in the darkest blue are the highest.
Compensation by location
| San Francisco | Los Angeles | New York | Boston | Seattle | |
| Director of Engineering | 200,000 | 170,000 | 179,500 | 180,000 | 197,000 |
| Director of Product | 190,000 | 155,000 | 160,000 | 162,500 | 200,000 |
| Director of Security (IT) | 178,750 | 155,300 | 160,000 | 160,000 | 170,000 |
| Engineering Manager | 177,000 | 142,000 | 160,000 | 144,200 | 175,000 |
| Group Engineering Manager | 190,000 | 155,000 | 160,000 | 162,500 | 200,000 |
| Group Product Manager | 200,000 | 137,500 | 189,000 | 178,000 | 205,000 |
| Principal Engineer | 176,000 | 147,000 | 155,000 | 147,000 | 185,000 |
| Senior Product Manager | 162,000 | 140,000 | 140,000 | 138,000 | 165,000 |
| VP of Operations | 210,000 | 165,000 | 181,600 | 200,000 | 204,000 |
- San Francisco pays the best overall.
- Seattle also commands high pay: Group Product Managers earn $205,000 and Directors of Product earn $200,000 – more than in any other city.
- Data reflects workers of all experience levels, education levels, genders, ethnicities, and locations.
- Figures shaded in the darkest blue are the highest.
Methodology
- The results were compiled from 9,200 Comparably users in job titles that have at least 270 overall employee compensation records on Comparably.
- Salaries reflect median total compensation (base salaries plus bonus).
- Employees hail from small, mid-size, and large tech companies (VC-funded, privately-held, and public) to household brands like Amazon, Apple, Google, Facebook, Uber, etc.
- Data was collected between March 2016 and January 2018.
About Comparably
Comparably is one of the fastest growing compensation, culture, and career monitoring sites in the U.S. With the most comprehensive and uniquely structured data — segmented by gender, ethnicity, age, location, tenure, company size, equity, title/department, and education — the platform gives employees a more accurate picture of their worth and allows them to anonymously rate their workplace experiences and match with their dream jobs. Since its launch in 2016, Comparably has accumulated more than 3 million ratings from employees across 30,000 U.S. businesses and over 5,000 companies who use its employer branding and jobs tools. For more information on Comparably, go to www.comparably.com. For highly-cited workplace culture and compensation studies, including Comparably’s annual Best Places to Work and Best CEOs lists, log onto www.comparably.com/blog.
