While job seekers in some categories of tech continue to benefit from a persisting talent crunch, a monthslong hiring slump and a focus on internal upskilling have led to a more challenging landscape for candidates.
“There is a significant pool of people that are looking,” Skillsoft CIO Orla Daly told CIO Dive.
In North America, the average annual tech salary was $113,211 this year, up 5% from reported 2023 wages, according to Skillsoft’s annual IT Skills and Salary report, which surveyed more than 5,000 IT decision-makers and executives.
Cloud and IT architecture tech pros continue to command the highest salaries in the IT department, just behind executives. Service desk and IT support workers maintain their spot at the bottom of the list.
“If you are in one of those new or evolving areas then, as the employee, the choice is yours,” Daly said. Job seekers with generic or traditional technology skills, Daly added, will likely find employers have the upper hand.
“It really does depend on the skill area,” Daly said.
Here are four of the highest-paying tech jobs in the U.S., according to Skillsoft data:
1. IT architecture and design
Tech pros with IT architecture and design skills bring in average annual salaries of $156,147 in North America, according to Skillsoft data. While the position fell behind cloud computing last year, it nabbed the top spot in 2024.
Organizations that prioritized AI implementation this year found it still necessary to have foundational skills, Daly said. Leaders aren’t expected to drastically divert from the plan next year.
“[It’s] less about big shifts and more continued building on the trends we’ve been seeing,” Daly said.
2. Cloud computing
IT professionals in cloud computing job functions are earning average annual salaries of around $142,902 in North America, Skillsoft data found. The role topped the list among rank-and-file roles last year, yet fell to second in 2024.
Despite the dip in positions, cloud skills are still in high demand. Within the tech industry, cloud infrastructure represented one of the primary subsectors driving new hiring in October, according to CompTIA analysis. Many of the top-paying certifications in the U.S. center around the technology as well.
3. Project management
Workers in project management roles bring in an average annual salary of $129,750 in North America, according to Skillsoft. The mid-level managerial position represents an area that roughly 1 in 10 organizations struggle to fill.
“It’s not all about AI,” Skillsoft said in the report. “Organizations can’t afford to forget about the rest of the pie — and luckily, they’re not.”
Around 22% of companies see project management as a key investment area in the year ahead, Skillsoft data found. Three in 5 respondents said the skill is critical for IT leaders, especially.
4. IT auditing, governance, risk or compliance
IT pros in roles related to audits, governance, risk or compliance are earning average annual salaries of $128,355 in North America, according to Skillsoft data.
The job functions as a sort of watchdog for the department. One-quarter of companies see governance, risk and compliance as a key investment area in 2025, according to Skillsoft. Businesses want to beef up their skills in the year ahead with around 1 in 5 characterizing governance, risk and compliance skillsets as low or somewhat low.
