Tech leaders earn four times more than the lowest-paid professionals
IT professionals come in many forms. — Image by © Tim Sandle
New research has revealed the highest-paid roles within the UK’s tech sector, with Chief Information Officers (CIOs) leading with an average base salary of £123,712.
The study by IT training provider tecnovy analysed salary data from the recruitment agencies Robert Half, Indeed, and Glassdoor to determine the highest and lowest-paying roles across the technology sector in the UK.
Factors that affect the average tech salary include experience, location, company size, skills, certifications, and an individual’s negotiation skills.
Chief Information Officers (CIOs), who oversee a business’s information technology strategy and operations, are the highest-paid technology professionals in the UK, earning an average base salary of £123,712.
Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) rank second on the list with an average salary of £122,079 – high compensation that is reflective of the role’s importance within the cybersecurity space as threats increase.
Chief Architects claim the third position with an average salary of £116,061. This role involves overseeing the structure and evolution of a company’s technology systems to ensure that they align with the long-term goals.
Chief Technology Officers rank fourth with an average salary of £104,321, who concentrate more on technical innovation and product development than the CIO’s broader operational focus.
Top 10 highest-paid tech jobs in the UK
| Rank | Position Title | Job Category | Average Base Salary |
| 1 | Chief Information Officer (CIO) | Leadership | £123,712 |
| 2 | Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) | Leadership | £122,079 |
| 3 | Chief Architect | Leadership | £116,061 |
| 4 | Chief Technology Officer (CTO) | Leadership | £104,321 |
| 5 | IT Director | Leadership | £92,978 |
| 6 | Programme Director | Transformation | £92,347 |
| 7 | Head of Product | Transformation | £88,687 |
| 8 | Enterprise Architect | Architecture | £85,483 |
| 9 | Solution Architect | Architecture | £77,890 |
| 10 | DevOps Manager | Cloud and Infrastructure | £77,352 |
IT Directors, who manage all areas of a business’s technology infrastructure, are in fifth place with an average salary of £92,978 – showcasing that leadership roles dominate the highest-paid positions.
Programme Directors emerged as the highest-paid professionals in the transformation category, ranking sixth overall with an average salary of £92,347. This role involves overseeing and guiding organisational changes through projects and strategic planning.
Head of Product ranks seventh with an average salary of £88,687, with these professionals managing product strategy, while Enterprise Architects, who align a company’s technology with its business goals, rank eighth at £85,483.
Rounding out the top ten were Solution Architects with an average salary of £77,890 and DevOps Managers at £77,352, with the latter representing the highest-paid role in the cloud and infrastructure category.
Lower paid
At the other end of the scale, the study identified the lowest-paid tech roles in the UK, with Network Administrators earning the least at £32,651 a year on average. Professionals in this role are responsible for ensuring that the networks within a business run efficiently and smoothly.
Test Analysts ranked second-lowest with an average salary of £34,794, despite the critical role they play in ensuring software quality and reliability.
Applications Support staff, who troubleshoot and improve the performance of applications used within an organisation, ranked third from the bottom, earning an average of £38,998 annually.
Data Analysts, who collect, process, and analyse data to provide predictive business insights, came fourth from the bottom with an average salary of £39,736.
Business Intelligence Analysts completed the bottom five with an average salary of £40,023, which was still more than £80,000 below the highest-paid role on the list. Similar to Data Analysts, Business Intelligence Analysts collect and examine data but have a more historical approach rather than for predictive purposes.
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