You will have a great career in Information Technology

Can you make an app? Do you know what cloud computing is or how networking works? If you do, then you could have an awesome career in Information Technology. The IT industry is growing and will continue to grow. It has a demand for workers with tech-skills with all of the computers, tablets, smartphones and other devices our society depends on. It is also a place where you can work from anywhere in the world. Where you live doesn't matter. U.S. News 2021 Best Jobs rankings drew some data comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and found some information on some of the top ranked careers in Information Technology.

Software Developer

Median Salary: $107,510

Expected Job Growth by 2029: 21.5%

Software developers affect virtually every part of our lives – and definitely our virtual lives. If you listen to music through a streaming service or you organize photos on a laptop, you can thank a software developer.

Some software developers get their start in childhood, teaching themselves how to create computer code. That said, usually future software developers go to college and get a bachelor's degree in computer science.

Data Scientist

Median Salary: $94,280

Expected Job Growth by 2029: 30.9%

Data scientists study data, as you would expect. Instead of a microscope, these data scientists use technology as their tool for sifting through the vast amounts of numbers and research that they collect.

Their goal is to determine what all the data means. If a company, university or organization collects a lot of research, hoping to come up with some groundbreaking findings, they may need a data scientist to make sense of all of it.

It’s a job that requires quantitative reasoning and computer programming skills. If you’re a talented communicator, all the better, since you’ll be able to explain in reports and to people and the public what all of the data means.

IT Manager

Median Salary: $146,360

Expected Job Growth by 2029: 10.4%

An information technology manager is also sometimes referred to as an information systems manager.

Managing information technology is an important job with a lot of responsibilities, especially in larger companies that oversee lots of data, which is why it pays so well. For instance, you'll need to keep hackers at bay and make sure computer systems don't go down. In other words, you're the person making the big decisions about your employer's technology.

Web Developer

Median Salary: $73,760

Expected Job Growth by 2029: 8%

When you go to a website and think, "Wow, nice website," that's due to a web developer.

Your employer will probably prefer that you have a college degree, but you can often get by with an associate degree.

That said, this is the type of job you can often do as a freelancer, and so you may be able to start a web design business without any degree – provided you have the chops to design websites, of course.

It's also a career that requires a lot of training or at least constantly learning. There's no being complacent. The job changes as technology and gadgets change.

Computer Systems Administrator

Median Salary: $83,510

Expected Job Growth by 2029: 4.3%

A computer systems administrator sets up and maintains a company's or organization's computer servers. This professional also works with the hardware and software that runs the company's local area and wide area networks. If there's a problem that would take down the computer servers, the computer systems administrator will fix it – and ideally prevent problems from occurring in the first place.

In short, the computer systems administrator's main function is to make sure the computer servers are running so everybody else can do their work.

Computer Support Specialist

Median Salary: $52,270

Expected Job Growth by 2029: 8%

If you've had trouble logging into a computer – if the software has gone haywire, for example, or if your operating system is down – you may have called a computer support specialist. If that's your job, you'll be helping a lot of frustrated folks, maybe on the phone and maybe in person, depending where you work. You might be at a call center. You might be in an office at a large organization helping all of its employees or members.

It's an in-demand job. After all, technology is always changing, which means computer users are likely to always be a little frazzled and in need of advice.