Information technology industry jobs and salaries seem to be on the rise. Janco Associates projects in its 2018 salary survey that “the IT job market will grow by 84,000 net new jobs,” and it reported a 3.5% increase in salary for all IT professionals. The 2017 ComputerWorld IT Salary Survey indicated a three percent salary increase for IT workers in 2017, so it seems like salaries are on the rise, although they did not grow as much as they did in the previous couple of years.
This makes for good news for anyone in IT, but what does it mean for IT Project Managers, in particular?
Project Managers in IT come up with the standards, budgets, and timetables for IT projects. They are in charge of all steps of projects, from delegating tasks to employees, procuring equipment and materials, to making sure that the project meets quality requirements. They ensure that the job is done on time and within budget, according to ComputerWorld.
In general, the average annual salary for an IT Project Manager is $89,405 per year, according to Indeed.com. This information comes from salaries that IT Project Managers, users, and job advertisements from the previous two years have submitted to Indeed.
Bureau of Labor Statistics
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that, in 2016, the median pay was $135,800 per year. Those who earned in the lowest tenth percentile made less than $82,360 per year, and those in the 25th percentile earned an average of $105,290 per year. The 75th percentile made an average of $170,670 annually, and the 90th percentile earned more than $208,000. The BLS reports that the average annual wage is $145,740.
In the Information industry, the median pay was $150,190, and it was $143,040 in Computer Systems Design and Related Services. In Finance and Insurance, the median pay was $142,890, and it was $139,540 in Manufacturing. In the Management of Companies and Enterprises industry, the median pay was $136,690.
Experience Level
For an IT project manager with between one and four years of experience in IT, the average annual salary, according to ComputerWorld in 2017, is $77,667, up 0.4% from $77,340 the year before. For those with between five and nine years of experience in IT, the average annual salary was $80,000 in 2017, up from $77,857 in 2016. If a project manager has worked in IT between 10 and 14 years, they can expect to earn an average of $119,336, according to the 2017 numbers, up from $116,924 in 2016. For those with between 15 and 19 years of experience in IT, the average annual salary is about $105,073, according to the 2017 survey, up from $102,043 in 2016.
Geography
The top-paying state for IT project managers was New York in 2016, where the average annual wage was $175,530, followed by California at $169,420 per year, and New Jersey at $168,520. Virginia was next on the list at $163,880, and Delaware was the fifth highest-paying state at $161,360.
The highest-paying metro area was San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA at $195,260 per year, followed by SanFrancisco-Redwood City-South San Francisco, CA at $195,180, and New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ at $185,340 per year, on average.
