Top 10 Highest Paying Computer Science Jobs In 2023

There are a lot of computer science jobs, but only a few can pay you millions. Let’s look closely at the highest paying computer science jobs in 2023

Are you interested in a tech career but unsure of the best job for you? Read more if you are interested.

Computer science studies computers and their processes, including the design of software and hardware, practical applications, and societal effects. If you are proficient in problem-solving, analysis, and computer programming, you may want to consider a career in computer science.

This blog explores several high paying computer science jobs. By pursuing a career in computer science, you can easily transfer your critical communication, analytical, and technological skills to other tech-based professions.

Let’s have a quick look at the highest paying computer science jobs

List of the Highest Paying Computer Science Jobs

S.No.	Computer Science Jobs	Mid-career Salary
1.	Software Development Director	150,901 USD
2.	Principal Software Engineer	145,292 USD
3.	Site Reliability Engineer (SRE)	120,608 USD
4.	Security Consultant	92,305 USD
5.	Development Operations (DevOps) Engineer	101,229  USD
6.	Cyber Security Engineer	99,887  USD
7.	Security Engineer	97,414 USD
8.	Full Stack Software Developer	81,832 USD
9.	Computer Scientist	81,037 USD
10.	Software Developer	75,774 USD

Highest Paying Computer Science Jobs 

1. Software Development Director

It is one of the underrated highest paying computer science jobs. A lot of the time, a director of software development also talks to stakeholders and other high-level managers at companies. They often make reports and proposals for the top people in a company to look over and decide on.

There are certain skills that many software development directors need to have in order to do their jobs well. By looking at resumes, we figured out what skills most people in this position have in common. We found that a lot of resumes included skills in math, organization, and business.

Main jobs and responsibilities

• Plan and run the process of making software.
• Help people on different teams and in different departments talk to each other.
• Talk to customers and find ways to make the product better.
• Train and guide younger programmers
• Make detailed presentations, reports, and evaluations

Average Salary Of Software Development Director

According to payscale, the average salary of Software Development Directors is 150,901 USD.

The average total pay for a Software Development Director with 1–4 years of experience is $129,716. This includes tips, bonuses, and overtime pay. 

Software Development Director in the middle of their career with 5–9 years of experience makes an average of $135,071 per year. 

Software Development Directors with 10 to 19 years of experience earns an average of $153,782 in total pay. 

People who have been working for 20 years or more average total pay of $151,447.

2. Principal Software Engineer

Principal software engineers create, document, and test software to ensure it meets users’ needs and help the business reach its goals. The software engineers help development teams with technical questions and keep an eye on the technical parts of all projects.

Main jobs and responsibilities

• Projects should be scaled up well.
• Boost performance and cut costs as much as possible.
• Make sure that design, use, and maintenance standards are met.
• Check how systems and networks work.

Average Salary Of Principal Software Engineer 

According to Payscale, the average salary of Principal Software Engineers is 145,292 USD.

Principal Software Engineer with little than a year of experience can expect an average of $109,960, including tips, bonuses, and overtime pay.

With 1–4 years of experience receives an average of $119,601.

Principal Software Engineer with 5–9 years of experience and in the middle of his or her career earns an average of $134,593. 

The average pay for a Principal Software Engineer with 10 to 19 years of experience is $146,282. 

When an employee has worked for 20 years or more, the average total pay is $152,353.

3. Site Reliability Engineer (SRE)

A site reliability engineer (SRE) acts as a link between developers and IT operations by doing the work that operations usually do. Instead, these types of engineers are given these kinds of jobs. They use automation tools to solve problems by making scalable and reliable software systems.

The main goal of SRE is to create software systems and automated ways to handle operational issues. So, SRE does the work that operations used to do, but it uses engineers who know a lot about software to solve problems.

Main duties and responsibilities

• Create systems and software that will make the site more reliable.
• Support on-call and handle incidents
• Work with product developers to develop solutions.
• Make sure the software delivery pipeline works.

Average Salary Of Site Reliability Engineer

According to payscale, the average salary of a Site Reliability Engineer is 120,608 USD.

Site Reliability Engineer (SRE) with very less than one year of experience and no tips, bonuses, or overtime pay can expect to earn an average total salary of $82,327.

With 1–4 years of experience earns an average of $106,101. 

Site Reliability Engineer (SRE) in the middle of their career with 5–9 years of experience makes an average of $126,424 altogether.

With 10 to 19 years of experience is $139,056. 

People who have worked for 20 years or more earn an average compensation of $139,517.

4. Security Consultant

It is among the best highest paying computer science jobs. A security consultant, who is sometimes called a security analyst, looks at computer systems, networks, and software programs to find places where hackers could get in and works on ways to make them more secure. This role as a consultant is a good example of a very specialized IT job.

By 2025, it is thought that cybercrime will cost around $10,500,000,000,000. Businesses in a wide range of industries are being targeted, from small and medium-sized businesses to large businesses. Security consultants are a big part of how businesses protect themselves from cybercrime.

Main jobs and responsibilities

• Check for possible dangers and take steps to stop them.
• Design and improve systems to protect data
• Make plans in case your data is stolen or lost.

Average Salary Of Security Consultant 

According to payscale, the average salary of a Security Consultant is 92,305 USD.

An entry-level Security Consultant (Computing, Networking, or Information Technology) with less than a year of experience can expect to receive an average total salary of $72,825.

With 1 to 4 years of experience earns an estimated $86,573.

With 5 to 9 years of experience makes an average of $99,495. 

With 10 to 19 years of experience, the average total pay is $123,452.

People who have been working for 20 years or more earn an average annual pay of $144,468.

5. Development Operations (DevOps) Engineer

DevOps engineers cut down on this complexity by bridging the gap between what needs to be done to change an application quickly and what needs to be done to keep it reliable.

The skills and goals of development teams and IT operations teams can be different. Developers want to add new features to an app, while the operations team wants to keep the app stable after it’s been released.

Some organizations may hire professionals to “perform DevOps” in their workflows, but because successful DevOps adoption depends on changes to culture and process, this may just make it harder for developers and operational teams to work together.

Major jobs and commitments

• Make and maintain platforms for websites
• System administration and cloud infrastructure management
• Sort problems by importance and fix them quickly.

Average Salary Of Development Operations Engineer

According to payscale, the average salary of a Development Operations Engineer is 101,229 USD.

Development Operations (DevOps) Engineer with very little than one year of experience can be expected to earn an average total salary of $77,077. This includes tips, bonuses, and overtime pay.

with 1 to 4 years of experience earns an average of $91,906 in total pay. 

5 to 9 years of experience makes an average salary of $111,852. 

The average total pay for a Development Operations (DevOps) Engineer with 10 to 19 years of experience is $126,146.

In their last 20 years of work or more, employees are expected to receive an average of $133,579 in total pay.

6. Cyber Security Engineer

Cybersecurity engineering is making and managing hardware, software, and security policies to protect systems, networks, and data.

They use the skills they’ve learned in digital forensics, security policy, and network defense to do cybersecurity tasks and work on hardware and software engineering. Cyber engineering graduates will have a lot of job opportunities all over the country. As of November 2018, the average annual salary for a cybersecurity job in the U.S. was $96,185.

Primary jobs and roles

• Analyze the security of computer systems and networks and keep them up to date.
• Test and look over security software, such as firewalls or programs that encrypt data.
• Find possible threats and make plans and policies to stop them.
• Watch for security problems and report them.

Average Salary Of Cyber Security Engineer 

According to payscale, the average salary of a Cyber Security Engineer is 99,887 USD.

Cyber Security Engineer have less than 1 year of experience and no tips, bonuses, or overtime pay and can expect to make an average of $78,906. 

With 1 to 4 years of experience, receive $86,498 in total pay. 

With 5–9 years of experience makes an average of $107,486.

With 10 to 19 years of experience makes an average total salary of $124,661. 

In their last 20 years of work or more, workers earn $130,883 in total pay.

7. Security Engineer

As a security engineer, it is your job to keep a company’s security systems up and running. This could mean installing and testing new security features, planning computer and network upgrades, fixing problems, and responding to security incidents.

Cybersecurity engineers, information systems security engineers, information security engineers, and network security engineers are all names for security engineers.

Tasks and obligations

As a security engineer, your day-to-day tasks will depend on your company, your industry, and the size of your security team. Here are some tasks and responsibilities from real security engineer job postings on LinkedIn to give you a better idea of what the job entails:

• Choosing security measures to improve how we handle incidents
• How to handle security problems
• Getting teams to respond to an incident together
• Performing code audits and security checks
• Putting together technical fixes for security holes
• looking for new ways to attack and making threat models
• Making security improvements automatically

Average Salary Of Security Engineer 

According to payscale, the average salary of a Security Engineer is 97,414 USD.

Security Engineers with less almost a year of experience and no tips, bonuses, or overtime pay can expect to make an average of $75,909.

The average pay for a Security Engineer with  1 to 4 years of experience is $89,039.

Security Engineer in the middle of their career with 5–9 years of work experience earns approximately $104,966.

With 10 to 19 years of experience makes an average salary of $121,941. 

Employees who have been working for 20 years or more have an average total pay of $124,573.

8. Full Stack Software Developer

A Full Stack Developer works on both the Back End, server side, and the Front End, or client side, of an application. Full Stack Developers need to know how to code in many different areas, like databases, graphic design, and UI/UX management, in order to do their jobs well. They are like a swing, ready to help in any needed way.

Some of the things a Full Stack Developer has to do are

• Aiding in the planning and making of Software
• Testing and fixing bugs in software to keep it running at its best.
• Writing clean code for the software’s front and back ends
• Designing how users will interact with the web app itself
• Putting together servers and databases for the software’s back end
• Keeping up with changes in technology to improve their software
• Getting the word out to decision-makers about how well new technologies work
• Taking security, maintenance, scalability, and other things into account when needed.

Average Salary Of Full Stack Software Developers 

According to the payscale, the average salary of a Full Stack Software Developer is 81,832 USD.

Full Stack Software Developers with less than a year of experience, the average total pay is $67,319.

The average total pay for a Full Stack Software Developer have 1 to  4 years of experience is $77,809. 

In the middle of their career with 5–9 years of experience makes an average of $94,915.

The average total pay for a Full Stack Software Developer have 10 to 19 years of experience is $107,242. 

When an employee has worked for 20 years or more, the average total pay is $108,279.

9. Computer Scientist

A computer scientist is a person who gets paid to study and research how computers store and use data. They learn about technology, as well as math and physics.

They might work with computer engineers to make new computers, or they might specialize in something like programming. In the information and technology industry, these professionals can also do various jobs.

Functions and duties at the forefront

• Make and maintain software and applications that help organizations work better.
• Use programs and algorithms to solve difficult problems.
• Come up with ideas for research, put plans into action, and look at the results.

Average Salary Of Computer Scientists

According to payscale, the average salary of computer scientists is 81,037 USD.

Computer Scientists who have less than 1 year of professional experience can estimate to earn an overall average salary of $69,880. 

The average total pay for a Computer Scientist with 1 to 4 years of experience is $76,803. 

Computer Scientist with 5–9 years of experience and in the middle of their career makes an average of $103,487. 

With 10 to 19 years of experience makes an average total salary of $111,710. 

Employees who have been working for 20 years or more have an average total pay of $120,797.

10. Software Developer

You’ve always liked solving puzzles and problems, especially ones that have to do with technology. Not only that but your friends and family often come to you when they have tech problems.

And when a new gadget comes out, you’re often the first person in line. You just love the world of new technology and all the possibilities it brings.

Software developers need a good mix of hard skills and soft skills. Software developers are not only in charge of planning and making the code and design for a program, but they also usually have to work with many different stakeholders.

Principal responsibilities and duties

• Create and fix different apps and software for clients
• Test software and make detailed reports on how it works

Average Salary Of Software Developer

According to payscale, the average salary of a Software Developer is 75,774 USD.

Software Developers who have almost a year of experience and no tips, bonuses, or overtime pay can expect to make an average total salary of $66,516.

 The average pay for a Software Developer with 1 to 4 years of experience is $73,119. 

 Software Developer with 5–9 years of experience and in the middle of their career makes an average of $86,723. 

With 10 to 19 years of experience makes an average of $98,006. 

When an employee has been working for 20 years or more, the average total pay is $101,745.

Conclusion

There are some of the best highest paying computer science jobs. Before you decide to get a degree, you should know how that degree will affect your career path and how much you can earn.

In the field of computer science, all of the above jobs are common. Even though most computer science jobs only require a bachelor’s degree, getting a master’s degree in computer science could help you get the job you want.

An advanced degree can help you stand out from the crowd by giving you more skills and familiarity with more languages, systems, and processes. This can help you get a higher starting salary and make you stand out from the competition. If you think that we have missed any of the highest paying computer science jobs then comment below.

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