Highest Paying Computer Science and IT Jobs

IT or Information Technology involves usage of computers to store, transmit, manipulate, retrieve, and process data of varying density. Computer Science, on the other hand, looks into the computer processes, which include hardware and software designs, programming applications, studying their influence on society. If you’re inclined towards computer programming, analysis and problem solving, you can pursue a career in Information Technology and explore the prevalent IT jobs.

Here's what this article will cover:

1. Why Computer Science & IT Jobs are in most demand
2. Advantages of a career in Computer Science
3. Disadvantages of a career  in Computer Science
4. Technical Interview Preparation Tips for Software Engineers
   

Why Computer Science & IT Jobs are in most demand

Today, the demand for these jobs are skyrocketing because it is one of the most stimulating, rewarding and inspiring industries. Technology is a crucial component in a multitude of sectors hence, computer Science and IT professionals will always be in high demand. The work responsibilities carried out by IT professionals is thus critical, essential and well-valued. Hence, a career in this domain would mean getting an excellent monetary package along with other impressive benefits.

Here are a few highest paying computer science jobs:

1. Programmer Analyst

National Average Salary: $71,666 per year.

Main responsibilities and tasks

• Developing and designing computer systems, fine-tuning programs that already exist, and updating them on a periodic basis.
• According to the company’s need, the programmer might have to work with particular systems, or tailor them to align with changing requirements.
• Performing cost analysis for the management to decide on the financial feasibility of the system.
  

Requirements for this job

• Must have good information-interpreting skills
• Should be able to make system and design recommendations based on findings
• Must communicate precisely and clearly (both in written and verbal)
• Need to derive fitting solutions to program-related issues

2. Ecommerce Business Analyst

National Average Salary: $74,919 per year.

Main responsibilities and tasks

• Carrying out and supporting different projects on development
• Monitoring and analyzing requirements of customer, market trends and services effectively
• Coordinating with technical staff and stakeholders
  

Requirements for this job

• Should have expertise in retail, manufacturing and distribution processes
• Must have knowledge regarding oracle platforms and other development platforms
• Should be able to write comprehensible and clear reports
• Should have impressive organizational skills and effective time management skills

3. Technical Support Engineer

National Average Salary: $72,224 per year.

Main responsibilities and tasks

• Helping customers install and launch programs on their computers for the very first time
• Troubleshooting problems and providing tips to resolve them.
• Referring arduous instances to senior analyst and support technicians
• Should send a documentation of technicalities to the end-users
  

Requirements for this job

• Should have a problem-solving nature. Good analysis, communication and decision-making skills are also required
• Should be able to gather and properly analyze information, and even identify a problem
• Should have good customer-service skills as these skills are essential to satisfy end-users

4. Business Continuity Analyst

National Average Salary: $74,919 per year.

Main responsibilities and tasks

• The Continuity Analyst must run maintenance tests periodically to ensure proper working of system recovery
• Enhancing the business processes existing currently
• Enhancing business processes and IT to ensure the usage of best strategies
• Ensuring full data recovery after blackouts or accidents
  

Requirements for this job

• It is mandatory to have a bachelor’s degree in computer science, information management or business
• Preferably, a business continuity analyst should hold designations like Master Business Continuity Professional
• Prior experience with IT risk analysis is also encouraged and preferred
• Should have good articulation and interpersonal skills

5. Database Developer

National Average Salary: $84,946 per year.

Main responsibilities and tasks

• Designing effective, reliable and stable databases
• Maintaining and optimizing the legacy systems
• Based on company’s request, modifying the databases
• Efficiently solving malfunctions and issues related to usage of database
  

Requirements for this job

• Should have Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science for one of the best paying computer science jobs
• A problem solving attitude and an understanding of the front-end user requirement
• Should be familiar with SQL
• Hands on experience with Oracle, HTML, JavaScript and .Net Framework

6. System Analyst

National Average Salary: $79,823 per year.

Main responsibilities and tasks

• Evaluating and examining current systems
• Collaborating with end-users for tracking extra features and requirements
• Providing support and training users on the current operating system
  

Requirements for this job

• Should have previous work experience as system analyst if you wish to try and get these highest paying computer science jobs
• Clear knowledge of business information systems is required
• Hands-on experience with SAP business application
• Need to be familiar with Java, C++ and Visual Basic

7. Software Developer

National Average Salary: $86,470 per year.

Main responsibilities and tasks

• Working hand in hand with developers to plan flowcharts and algorithms
• Producing efficient and clean software codes based on requirements
• Integrating programs of third-party and software components
• Upgrading, debugging and troubleshooting the current software
  

Requirements for this job

• Should have previous experience as a Software Engineer or Software Developer
• Clear knowledge of programming languages (Java Script, Java and C++) and frameworks (Git and Angular JS) is required
• Need to have prior understanding of ORM like Hibernate
• Must have excellent interpersonal skills and should be able to work in a team

8. UX Designer

National Average Salary: $90,207 per year

Main responsibilities and tasks

• Understanding user psychology and product specifications are extremely important for getting one of these high paying jobs in computer science
• Finding unique ways for solving problems related to UX
• Taking customer’s needs into consideration for developing prototypes and wireframes
• Creating personas via data and user research
  

Requirements for this job

• Need to have prior experience as UI designer or UX designer
• Powerful portfolios of projects are a must if the person wants to ensure highest computer science salary
• Knowledge of software like Balsamiq and UXPin is essential
• Should be proficient in JavaScript and CSS/HTML

9. Database Administrator

National Average Salary: $90,207 per year.

Main responsibilities and tasks

• Creating database systems of amazing quality and also evaluating database software purchases
• Implementing and designing database based on the information needs of the end users
• Using high speed techniques of transaction recovery and data backup
• Providing quick responses to queries by minimizing database downtime
  

Requirements for this job

• Preferably should have prior working experience in this field.
• Perfect knowledge on SQL, security, recovery and data integrity is what’s needed to get one of the high paying cs jobs.
• Hands-on experience with third party tools and DBA tools is important

10. IT Project Manager

National Average Salary: $93,372 per year.

Main responsibilities and tasks

• Improving, evaluating and developing IT policies and strategies for the company
• Aligning business goals with projects, IT strategies and tasks to achieve the required output.
• Carrying out research for improving strategies for cybersecurity.
  

Requirements for this job

• Should have excellent communication skills in order to motivate the stakeholders in the project
• Clear knowledge of programming languages, operating systems, VMware and SQL is required
• Should have the ability to manage risks of online platforms and business networks

11. .NET Developer

National Average Salary: $94,161 per year.

Main responsibilities and tasks

• Prioritizing tasks and analyzing requirements of the systems
• Using .NET languages to write clean codes
• Debugging and testing several .NET apps
• Upgrading the existing systems for improving efficiency
  

Requirements for this job

• Should have prior experience as a .NET developer to bag one of the highest paying jobs in computer science.
• In depth knowledge of applications that are web based is a must.
• Should have proficiency in .NET languages like Visual Basic.NET and C#.

12. IT Auditor
    

National Average Salary: $98,822 per year.

Main responsibilities and tasks

• Checking the computer network in order to determine inefficiency, mismanagement and fraud
• Creating ways to improve the security and user interface of the system
  

Requirements for this job

• Should have a Bachelor’s degree in IT or Computer Information Systems
• Should have prior work experience in the field, preferably for a minimum of 5 years
• Should have specialized skills in public accounting or auditing information systems will be preferred

13. Front-End Developer

National Average Salary: $102,697 per year.

Main responsibilities and tasks

• Creating webpages that are user-friendly using languages like HTML
• Improving and maintaining the website using best practices
• Maximizing the speed of the applications
• Designing features that are mobile based
  

Requirements for this job

• To be able to apply for these best paying computer science jobs, prior working experience as a front-end developer is mandatory
• Should be familiar with jQuery, CSS and JavaScript
• Should know about Photoshop and Adobe Suite

14. Java Developer

National Average Salary: $103,461 per year.

Main responsibilities and tasks

• Making contribution in all the development lifecycle phases
• Writing efficient, testable and well-designed codes
• Supporting improvements by looking into technologies and alternatives and presenting them for reviews
  

Requirements for this job

• Should  have a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Engineering or Computer Science.
• Should have experience in developing and designing applications with Java platform. This is a must if you want to explore these highest paying cs jobs
• Should have knowledge about JEE internals and Java

15. Software Engineer

National Average Salary: $106,496 per year.

Main responsibilities and tasks

• Executing full SDLC (Software Development Lifecycle)
• Writing testable and efficient programming codes
• Maintaining and documenting software functionality
  

Requirements for this job

• Prior experience as Software Developer is necessary.
• Should have the ability to develop software in programming languages like C++, Ruby on Rails and Java.
• Need to have knowledge about ORM technologies and SQL to be eligible for these best paying computer science jobs

16. Network Security Engineer

National Average Salary: $115,197 per year.

Main responsibilities and tasks

• Installing and configuring various network services and devices like Firewalls, VPN etc.
• Ensuring system reliability and availability and also monitoring the system performance
• Providing troubleshooting and level-2/3 support for resolving difficulties
  

Requirements for this job

• Should have relevant work experience in the domain to land up in this role and have the highest paying computer science job
• Deep knowledge about networking protocols like IPSEC, BGP etc
  
  

17. Mobile Developer

National Average Salary: $115,817 per year.

Main responsibilities and tasks

• Planning for and identifying new features
• Supporting functionalities of mobile by developing APIs
• Staying up-to-date with the latest in technology and concepts is important for getting highest paying cs jobs

Requirements for this job

• Should have 3+ years of experience in the same field
• Extensive knowledge on OOP design principles is required
• Familiarity with programming languages like Java and Swift
• Should have team coordination skills and  excellent communication skills

18. Data Scientists

National Average Salary: $121,897 per year.

Main responsibilities and tasks

• Carrying out data collection  and data mining processes
• Ensuring top-class data integrity and quality
• Analyzing and interpreting data related problems
  

Requirements for this job

• Should have previous work experience in the field of data mining
• Clear understanding of machine learning is the most important thing to bag one of these best paying computer science jobs
• Excellent knowledge of MATLAB, Python and R
• Should have experience with NoSQL and SQL databases

19. DevOps Engineer

National Average Salary: $121,996 per year.

Main responsibilities and tasks

• Deploying fixes and updates
• Implementing customer requested integrations
• Carrying out the root cause analysis for production errors
  

Requirements for this job

• Prior work experience as Software Engineer or DevOps engineer is essential
• Clear understanding of Python or Ruby is necessary to get the role of DevOps Engineer which is considered to be one of the best paying computer science jobs
• Should always have a problem solving and inquisitive attitude

20. Software Architect

National Average Salary: $139,099 per year.

Main responsibilities and tasks

• Determining non-functional and functional requirements for new applications by collaborating with other professionals
• Developing product specifications of high-level by giving attention to feasibility and system integration
  

Requirements for this job

• Needs previous experience in data modelling and database design
• Should have familiarity with UML
• Should have excellent knowledge of JavaScript and UX/UI design to get these highest paying cs jobs.

Advantages of a career in Computer Science

• A career in IT is considered to be a respected profession
• The demand for qualified people with IT knowledge will always be high
• Provides good salary if one is aiming at these top paying computer science jobs
• With evolving technology one gets to learn new things and upgrade skills killing monotony

Disadvantages of a career  in Computer Science

• The work hours are long and can get stressful
• The personal time of employees is likely to get interrupted/disrupted
• Deadlines are often tight and can cause a lot of work pressure
• Sedentary lifestyle leading to health problems

Technical Interview Preparation Tips for Software Engineers

• Have a clear idea about what to expect at the interview rounds and focus on the critical

areas of the job requirement

• Make sure to cover a wide range of technical topics like data structures, algorithmic

coding, problem solving, system design etc. and practice a lot of problems related to the topics

• Do not skip practicing mock interviews and prepare for crucial non-technical topics like

behavioral questions as well

• Especially in the current Covid-19 situation, make sure you prepare yourself for telephonic

and online interviews

• Do your research and learn from what other candidates have experienced at these

interviews before you