The 10 highest-paying industries for IT talent

Technology has quickly become a top priority for businesses across every industry. So much so that IT roles are no longer just the purview of the IT department. Every business unit has a stake in the IT services, apps, networks, hardware, and software needed to meet business goals and objectives, and many of them are hiring their own technologists.

While Silicon Valley still pays top dollar for IT pros, the war for talent has moved beyond the technology industry, with other verticals vying for talented IT workers who have the skills to enable digital transformation, process improvement, change management, and the development of apps and services. And as the demand for tech talent grows in industries beyond tech, salaries are on the rise in fields such as consulting, finance, aerospace, defense, and more.

Here are the 10 industries with the highest tech salaries, and how much they’ve increased in value since 2022, according to the 2024 Dice Tech Salary Report.

1. Aerospace and Defense

It may come as no surprise that there’s high demand for engineers in the aerospace and defense industry, including avionics, systems, AI, software, network, quality assurance, robotics, radio frequency (RF), simulation, flight test, and manufacturing engineers. But you’ll also find demand for other technology roles such as cybersecurity analyst, project manager, aerospace technologist, geospatial analyst, communications specialists, software tester, technical writer, and data analyst. It’s an industry that consistently needs skilled IT workers with the expertise to develop, design, maintain, and implement complex aerospace systems, while ensuring they remain safe and secure.

Average salary: US$130,574

Change since 2022: +7.4%

2. Software

The software industry is a natural fit for IT jobs, and there is always demand for IT pros who can help software vendors design, develop, implement, and maintain their products and services. A broad range of IT roles help fuel the software industry, the most obvious being software developers and engineers. But you’ll also find demand for quality assurance, DevOps, technical support, and software sales engineers. Project managers, product managers, cybersecurity professionals, data scientists, database administrators, and software architects are also in high demand in the software sector.

Average salary: US$130,559

Change since 2022: +5.2%

3. Medical/Pharmaceutical/Biotechnology

The medical, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology industries offer lucrative career avenues for IT pros as technology becomes a cornerstone of all aspects of healthcare. These industries have embraced new and emerging technologies such as AI and ML to improve medical devices, diagnostics, software tools, and to revolutionize medicine. There’s demand for data scientists, developers, analysts, engineers, and those with experience in compliance, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. There’s a strong focus on data security and privacy, advancing research and development, and building proprietary platforms for healthcare customers in these verticals, and engaging emerging technology to create better software and diagnostic tools is also on the rise.

Average salary: US$128,141

Change since 2022: -0.8%

4. Banking/Finance

The demand for tech workers in the finance industry has only continued to grow as financial services have moved online. Even internally, finance companies such as Discover, have focused on building IT training platforms to upskill workers to help meet the rapidly growing need for talent. There’s a high demand for software engineers, data engineers, business analysts, and data scientists, as finance companies move to build in-house tools and services for customers. There’s also a push for digital transformation in the sector, with companies looking to integrate new and emerging technologies, while modernizing legacy finance tech.

Average salary: US$126,226

Change since 2022: 1.8%

5. Consulting

In the consulting industry, technology has become an important tool for making decisions, designing solutions, improving processes, and providing insights on optimizing business strategy. You’ll find plenty of IT consulting jobs available, a role that helps organizations identify technology solutions and strategies for improving their hardware, software, networks, and other IT infrastructure. Consulting firms are increasingly turning to tech talent to help build in-house platforms, according to the report from Dice. There’s a demand for skills such as cybersecurity, cloud, IT project management, UX/UI design, change management, and business analysis.

Average salary: US$125,160

Change since 2023: -5.2%

6. Utilities/Energy

You’ll find demand for unique job titles in the utilities and energy industries, including SCADA engineer, renewable energy engineer, smart metering specialist, grid modernization specialist, energy data analyst, energy efficient consultant, GIS specialist, and energy storage engineer. There’s also a demand for more typical IT roles such as project manager, data scientist, cybersecurity professional, RPA developer, IoT engineer, asset management specialist, data center manager, and more. The industry has a demand for highly skilled IT pros who can navigate complex, technical systems and networks.

Average salary: US$119,880

Change since 2022: +1.2%

7. Insurance

As insurance companies turn to digital services, the industry has seen growth in demand for IT workers who can help build, deploy, and maintain internal and external apps and services. In order to meet the growing demand for tech talent, companies such as Progressive have invested in internal upskilling bootcamp programs to help close the skills gap. Similar to the healthcare industry, the insurance industry deals with a high volume of often sensitive and confidential data, so there’s typically a demand for cybersecurity and data workers, in addition to developers and engineers. And as more insurance companies develop client-facing apps and services, there’s a need for UX/UI designers as well.

Average salary: US$117,612

Change since 2022: +2.7%

8. Healthcare

Technology has evolved at a rapid pace in healthcare settings, spiking a demand for talented IT and tech professionals. It’s an industry that handles critical, private, and sensitive data so there’s a consistent demand for cybersecurity and data professionals. But you’ll also find high demand for software engineers, data analysts, business analysts, data scientists, systems administrators, and help desk technicians. It’s an industry that can also offer some stability to tech workers, since there will always be a need for tech workers to help keep a vital industry running. 

Average salary: US$117,578

Change since 2022: +4.5%

9. Telecommunications

IT jobs are a natural fit for the telecommunications industry, given that it is fully dependent on technology. You’ll find demand for nearly every traditional IT role, including project manager, software developer, systems analyst, network engineer, security specialist, data analyst, radio frequency (RF) engineer, cloud engineer, and consultants. In fact, you’ll be hard pressed to find an IT job title that doesn’t fall under the umbrella of telecommunications.

Average salary: US$114,368

Change since 2022: -1.4%

10. Entertainment

The entertainment industry might not seem like a sector with a high demand for IT roles, but there’s plenty of need for skilled tech professionals. Technology is a cornerstone to developing movies, video games, live events, music, and television shows. There’s typically high demand for multimedia developers, video game developers, virtual reality developers, and production technologists. There’s also a growing need for streaming platform engineers, now that streaming services dominate for TV and movies. Other vital roles include project manager, security specialist, web developer, data analyst, and systems administrator.

Average salary: US$113,860

Change since 2022: -5.1%