Information Technology Degrees
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Salaries For Degrees in Information Technology
Those who majored in Information Technology can be employed in a variety of jobs. It is impossible to say what you personally will do with a degree in Information Technology, our survey panel picked the following jobs as likely options:
- Computer and information systems managers (Best salary!)
- Network and computer systems administrators
- Electrical and electronics installers and repairers, transportation equipment
- Computer software engineers, applications
- Computer systems analysts
- Database administrators
The median salary for people with a degree in Information Technology is $73,691.54. The lifetime value of this degree is approximately $1,694,598.00.
Salaries are highly dependent on individual negotiating skill, years of related experience, your employer, region, and more besides. The estimates we show on these pages are just that: estimates. Your individual experience will likely vary.
Where does this come from?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics, a unit of the US government, classifies all workers into some 800-odd occupational categories. We paid a team of freelancers to get their opinion on what type of degree a holder of each type of job would likely have majored in. For pairs which had a high degree of consensus, we created a link between the degree and the job.
From this, we calculated the average salary for Information Technology degrees and converted it into a lifetime value. We then compared it against other degrees at the same level of schooling (such as associate's, bachelor's, or master's), so that you can make informed educational and employment decisions.
The information technology (IT) sector encompasses a wide range of workers representing every degree level. Graduates of the various IT degree programs become computer support specialists, computer hardware engineers, database administrators, computer scientists, professors of IT, and more. Read on for descriptions of associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral training programs in information technology.
What Can an Information Technology Student Expect to Learn?
Associate’s Degree
Entry-level associate's degrees provide students with practical career training. Associate of Science in information technology programs train students to become computer support specialists, network administrators, and systems administrators. Sample required courses include Introduction to Information Technology, Database Management, and Legal Aspects of IT.
The associate’s degree in info technology is equivalent to the first two years of a four-year bachelor’s degree. It typically takes two years to earn, but online degree options can expedite the process.
Many students plan to earn an associate’s degree in IT, start earning a decent paycheck, and then continue schooling online for professional advancement. Graduates can apply their associate degree credits to a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology degree program.
Bachelor’s Degree
The Bachelor of Science in Information Technology is a four-year college degree. Online, it can be earned in as little as two or three years. The primary areas of undergraduate training in IT include computer science, computer programming, mathematics, and statistics. Students are also expected to develop their English writing and speaking skills, as many IT jobs involve working with teams and communicating with the public.
This degree offers excellent payback: salaries in computer science are relatively high, and the US Bureau of Labor Statistics expects graduates to have outstanding employment opportunities for at least the coming decade.
Master’s Degree
Master’s degree programs in information technology/computer science and MBA programs with information technology concentrations prepare students for a variety of lucrative careers. Their emphasis upon administration within tech environments makes graduates competitive candidates for coveted management positions such as Project Manager, Chief Technology Officer, or IT Director. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports median salaries of above $100,000 for these positions.
Sample course titles in IT master’s programs include Introduction to Marketing, Database Management, E-Commerce, and Systems Management and Design. Requirements for the degree can typically be met through one or two years of study. With today’s flexible online learning options, master’s students are choosing part-time, accelerated, and traditional-length degree programs.
Doctorate
Doctoral degree programs in information technology train the next generation of researchers, IT professors, and specialists in niche areas of info technology. Examples of doctorates include the PhD in Information Technology Education, the PhD in Information Technology Management, and the PhD in General Information Technology. Even the so-called “general” programs allow for specialization in areas such as information security, management, and network design.
Doctoral degree programs in IT offer many research-focused courses such as “Survey of Research Literature in Information Technology Planning and Delivery,” “Quantitative Research Techniques,” and “Qualitative Methods in IT.”
Online Schools Offering Accredited Information Technology Degree Programs
The following list of accredited schools includes online-only institutions as well as traditional residential colleges with distance learning options.
- Ashworth College
- Ball State University
- Capella University
- DePaul University
- DeVry University
- Golden Gate University
- Hofstra University Online
- Indiana State University
- Indiana Wesleyan
- ITT Technical Institute
- Kaplan University
- Kent State University
- New England Institute of Technology
- New Jersey Institute of Technology
- Northwest Missouri State University
- Penn Foster Career School
- Pennsylvania State University
- Polytechnic Institute of New York University
- Thomas Edison State College
- University of California at Irvine
- University of Florida Online
- University of Illinois at Chicago
- University of Maryland Online
- University of Massachusetts Amherst
- University of North Carolina Online
- University of Phoenix
- Walden University
Top Colleges & Universities Offering Campus-based Information Technology Degrees
Prospective students can choose from a wide range of schools: community colleges, state schools, and Ivy League universities offer information technology degree programs.
- Ball State University
- Carnegie Mellon University
- Harvard University
- Indiana State University
- Indiana Wesleyan
- ITT Technical Institute
- Kent State University
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
- New England Institute of Technology
- New Jersey Institute of Technology
- Northwest Missouri State University
- Pennsylvania State University
- Polytechnic Institute of New York University
- Stanford University
- Thomas Edison State College
- University of California at Berkeley
- University of Illinois at Chicago
- University of Maryland at Baltimore County
- University of Massachusetts at Amherst
Famous Information Technology Students
Computer geeks nowadays attain celebrity status, and that’s only going to become more common as computers become more integrated with our daily lives. Here are some of the more famous Americans in the IT field.
1. Steve Case – Case brought us AOL and the famous phrase, “You’ve got mail!” While AOL has lost its prominence, there’s no doubt that Case helped usher in a high-tech information era that changed America and the world.
2. Bill Gates (pictured right) – The world’s youngest self-made billionaire built an empire from information technology. Gates started tinkering with his middle school’s General Electric (GE) computer in the mid-1960s. According to Wikipedia, he also modified his school’s computer programming so that he’d have classes with more girls! Ultimately, this boy wonder changed the world with his Microsoft technology and philanthropic foundation.
3. Meg Whitman – With excellent business acumen, Whitman expertly applied IT as eBay’s CEO from 1998-2008. She has become one of the wealthiest women in California – even having $100,000,000 to spend in her 2010 race for California Governor.
