The Highest-Paying Entry-Level Tech Jobs That You Don’t Even Need a College Degree For – Thrillist
Tech is the future. The industry is constantly expanding, which means one thing: Jobs. Lots and lots of jobs.
Tech is by no means an easy field to get into, but it’s well worth it, as jobs in the field are usually very well paid. Even certain entry-level tech jobs pay big bucks. And the best part? You don’t even need a college degree to get hired.
Comparably, a job market monitoring site, just released its annual list of the highest-paying entry-level jobs in tech, reviewing thousands of employee records to gather this data. According to a press release sharing the list, Comparably has found that there were 3.9 million job postings for tech jobs in 2020, with the median tech job paying two times the average national median. Comparably projects 245,500 net new tech jobs in 2021.
Comparably’s list of the 15 highest-paying entry-level jobs in tech without a college degree includes a full description of each job, as well as the average salary you can expect. Like in any industry, some jobs pay more than others. Software Architect, the highest-paying gig on Comparably’s list, pays close to $100,000, while Social Media/Community Manager, the lowest paying on the list, pays a little over $55,000. Still not bad for an entry-level job.
While a college degree isn’t required for any of the jobs listed, in some cases, you may be paid more if you do happen to have one. The disparity between college grads and non-college grads in all of the jobs listed fell somewhere between $3,000 and $10,000, according to the data.
These are the highest-paying entry level tech jobs out there, per the report:
1. Software Architect
Without a degree: $93,368
With a degree: $97,490
2. DevOps Engineer
Without a degree: $92,644
With a degree: $93,095
3. Developer
Without a degree: $92,145
With a degree: $96,550
4. IT Manager
Without a degree: $92,045
With a degree: $85,519
5. Data Scientist
Without a degree: $92,000
With a degree: $93,713
6. Product Manager
Without a degree: $88,716
With a degree: $102,156
7. Mobile Developer
Without a degree: $82,204
With a degree: $95,004
8. UI/UX Designer
Without a degree: $80,500
With a degree: $83,486
9. Sales Engineer
Without a degree: $79,880
With a degree: $94,478
10. Product Marketing Associate
Without a degree: $76, 233
With a degree: $74,954
11. Quality Assurance (QA) Analyst
Without a degree: $68,212
With a degree: $66,821
12. Business Analyst
Without a degree: $65,449
With a degree: $69,673
13. Web/Visual Designer
Without a degree: $62,969
With a degree: $65,492
14. Sales Rep/Associate
Without a degree: $60,684
With a degree: $68,122
15. Social Media/Community Manager
Without a degree: $58,899
With a degree: $48,994
Comparably’s study found that there is still a disparity between women and men in tech, however, as there are many positions in which men without a degree still earn more than women with a degree, though a handful of roles did also see both women with and without college degrees earn more than their male counterparts: Social Media Manager, Product Marketing, and Developer.
As for the wage gap, Comparably found that the smallest inequity between men and women was found in eight of 15 roles: Developer, Software Architect, IT Manager, Product Manager, Sales Rep, Social Media/Community Manager, Web/Visual Designer and Business Analyst. Now for the bad news. In five of 15 roles, women were paid significantly less than their male counterparts. Those roles are DevOps Engineer, Mobile Developer, UI/UX Designer, QA Analyst and Sales Engineer.