Most jobs in the IT industry pay well, but skills matter

Tech leaders are frustrated by the challenge they face to identify and hire skilled workers who can execute on their organization's plans. That's among the key findings in Global Knowledge's "2018 IT Skills and Salary Report," which quizzed more than 16,200 tech professionals from around the world about jobs in the IT industry.

The struggle to place the right people in the right roles is an enduring complaint, especially in technology. What's troubling is that this gap between supply and demand is growing worse and not better.

That's not a hopeful sign for tech. Without talent, innovation sputters and good ideas linger on the whiteboard. Existing products stagnate, and new ones never get built.

The promise of financial reward could motivate more people to pursue jobs in the IT industry. At minimum, splashy compensation enables businesses willing to pay top dollar to attract and retain much of the tech talent they need.

So what's the salary picture look like in 2018?

Not surprisingly, a lot depends on where in the world you work and what your expertise is in. Tech workers with cloud computing experience and those with cybersecurity skills command higher salaries, found Global Knowledge, the North Carolina-based IT training firm that conducted the survey. And IT managers make more money than their staffs -- about 60% more in the Asia-Pacific region and about 40% more in most of the rest of the world.

Raises for Canadian tech workers averaged 2%, the smallest percentage increase. On the high end, IT pros told Global Knowledge that raises averaged 8% in Latin American countries.

The salary survey showed how variations in the cost of living play out in large and small ways. Within the U.S., for example, IT professionals living in high-cost Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey and Virginia reported earning on average between $97,000 and $105,000 annually; those in West Virginia, New Mexico, Arkansas, South Dakota and Alaska typically earned an average of $53,000 to $63,000.

For details on how much jobs in the IT industry pay, see the below graphic.