Cited, not a funnel
Compare tech careers
Most “compare IT careers” tools show you a salary and a button to request info from a school. This one shows the cited occupation-level pay, the actual BLS projection — including the roles that are shrinking— the typical entry education, and a common entry certification. No rankings-for-payout, no training funnel, nothing to buy.
The comparison — every column cited
Entry tech careers, side by side
| Career | Median pay | Growth 2024–34 | Openings / yr | Typical entry education | Common entry cert |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Software DeveloperSOC 15-1252 | $135,980 | +15.8% | ~115,200 | Bachelor's | No single entry cert |
| Network Automation EngineerSOC 15-1241 | $134,050 | +11.9% | ~11,200 | Bachelor's | CompTIA Network+ |
| Cybersecurity AnalystSOC 15-1212 | $129,180 | +28.5% | ~16,000 | Bachelor's | CompTIA Security+ |
| AI / Data SpecialistSOC 15-2051 | $120,230 | +33.5% | ~23,400 | Bachelor's | CompTIA Data+ |
| Cloud EngineerSOC 15-1299 | $116,580 | +8.2% | ~31,300 | Bachelor's | AWS Cloud Practitioner |
| IT Support SpecialistSOC 15-1232 | $61,860 | -3.7% | ~40,800 | Some college, no degree | CompTIA A+ |
Median pay: BLS OEWS, May 2025 (occupation-level national median). Growth, annual openings, and typical entry education: BLS Employment Projections, 2024–2034. Common entry cert: the foundation credential RoleMath maps to each role. Growth is a projection, not a guarantee; pay reflects the occupation and location, not the job title, and entry-level roles sit below the median.
Why this looks different
We show the roles that are shrinking, too
A site that earns a fee for sending you to training has no reason to tell you a path is contracting. This one does: by the BLS projection, computer user support is set to decline about 3.7%through 2034, even though it still has high annual openings from turnover and is a common first rung. Seeing the honest outlook — up and down — is the point. Pay and growth are occupation-level context for planning, never a promise.
Common questions
Comparing tech careers, answered honestly
- Which tech career pays the most?
- Among these entry tech occupations, BLS reports the highest national median for Software Developers ($135,980) and the network-architect occupation behind the Network Automation Engineer row ($134,050), and the lowest for the computer-user-support occupation behind IT Support ($61,860), per OEWS May 2025. Pay is set by the occupation and location, and entry-level roles sit below these medians — the figure is not a salary you are promised.
- Which tech career has the best job outlook?
- By BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034, the fastest-projected here are the data/AI occupation (+33.5%) and information security analysts (+28.5%). Importantly, not every tech role is growing — computer user support is projected to decline about 3.7%. These are projections, not guarantees, and openings matter too: support roles still have high annual openings from turnover.
- Do these tech careers require a degree?
- BLS lists a bachelor’s degree as the typical entry-level education for most of these occupations, and "some college, no degree" for IT support. "Typical" is not "required" — many people enter through certifications, apprenticeships, and projects. Check the specific role’s requirement rather than assuming.
- Does RoleMath rank these careers or sell training?
- No. This is a cited comparison, not a ranking-for-payout, and RoleMath sells no training and earns no referral fee. The "common entry cert" column points to a foundation credential for each role; each role links to its cited page with full pay, outlook, skills, and credential detail.
Go deeper on any role — with the sources
Each career links to its cited RoleMath page with full pay, outlook, skills, and credential path. Or build a plan for your background, budget, and target role. RoleMath sells nothing.