Ultimately, what’s the goal? What is it people want to know?

There’s a lot of waffle, technical jargon, and ego that doesn’t help the tech industry.

Some people just want to get to the root of a problem and that’s it.

Now, this post aims to be as transparent, open, and honest as possible.

What you’re about to read are just a few words from experience in the tech industry, but you do not have to take it as gospel.

Without sugarcoating or going around in circles, we thought it was better to rip off the bandaid and answer that popular question “Where’s the money at?” / “What role pays the most?” / “How can I earn big in tech?”…

The answer is not a one-word answer, as you can imagine, you need to be able to understand the game you’re in and whether you have what it takes to win!

I haven’t seen anything clear-cut and to the point that tells us where to look, so this post has accepted that challenge in doing just that – informing those interested and most curious, to understand where to look so that you can reap the financial rewards.

There are, certain roles that pay well, pay more than others, and are probably preferred more.

However, there’s always a flip side – do you like the role?

How difficult is the role?

What’s required and is it what it’s cracked up to be?

Knowing where the money is, is one thing, but whether you’re built for it is another question.

To put it simply, there is and there isn’t money in tech. Odd, right?

This is because where the money is depends on several things.

There’s money in the type of job you do, but depending on the type of job you do, you’re not going to see money.

The same goes for experience, don’t think for one minute that you’ll get a healthy paycheck with no experience.

You need to work and demonstrate the work you’ve been putting in, through experience.

Also, having a business mindset helps, do you have that?

Sometimes it’s difficult to understand where the money is because we complicate things.

It’s best to keep things simple, especially for our sanity and peace.

We will be covering three things that’ll break down what you need to know to get the best out of the industry, in the simplest way possible.

First and foremost, the type of job you have plays a major part on whether or not you’ll see money.

Unfortunately, that’s the situation – it is what it is.

Don’t be delusional, you’re not going to see money in a role like customer support, unfortunately.

There’s nothing wrong with this type of role, but if you want to get to the money (without any riff-raff) then you need to know what pays substantially well.

So there are a few options, a couple of these include managerial roles, executive roles, and specialist roles.

The money you get can vary, but generally, when you hold a position in either one of these positions, that should get you closer to that large sum of money.

Managerial position

Any post that requires you to manage and take care of people, tends to be a managerial role.

These types of roles pay a fair amount of money, given the fact that you’re managing a whole team.

Managerial type of roles often refer to individuals responsible for the whole team; they need to hold themselves accountable for everything that goes on within a team and take ownership of the overall team direction and delivery.

Some examples of these include:

• Delivery Manager
• Project Manager
• Programme Manager

If you manage to secure any one of the above roles, you can be certain that, if not immediately, in time, you’ll see the financial reward these present in the tech industry.

You’re also in a better position to negotiate and get the money you ask for.

The reason behind this, which is no secret, is that it requires a lot of time and energy to manage and look after people.

A manager’s prime role is to ensure a team is organised in the best way possible to deliver whatever it is that needs to be delivered.

It is the manager’s responsibility to operationalise and mobilise the team.

If a team is performing badly, then the manager has to do something about that.

Also, a team’s performance may be a result of the manager’s managerial style.

There’s a lot that goes on in the mind of a manager and that’s probably one of the many reasons why a manager’s paycheck looks very healthy.

Remember, we’re referring to managers in the tech industry, other industries may vary – but rest assured, if you’re a program or delivery manager in tech, chances are you’re not complaining about what’s going into your bank account.

Executive position

Now when we’re talking numbers, these are the people who you need to know exist.

These are the decision-makers, game-changers, and shapers of the overall business.

Having an executive role in the tech industry automatically places you in front of the line when it comes to negotiating the type of money you’ll get.

This is pretty self-explanatory.

But another interesting thing about executive positions is that you not only get a large pay package, but you tend to also get percentages of a company’s earnings and a generous bonus.

Essentially, when you’re the person making decisions on behalf of the business, you can expect to see healthy sums of money.

These are the bosses and boss of bosses who have the final say.

When an executive decision is made, everyone adheres to it – they can be challenged, but they still maintain a final say in a company.

People often imagine these individuals to be those on the long table in the boardroom making key decisions.

It may not always play up to the fantasy, but they are the people at the top and their words count a lot. Some examples include:

• CEO – Chief Executive Officer
• CFO – Chief Financial Officer
• COO – Chief Operational Officer
• CTO – Chief Technology Officer

Any title/role with the name chief in front of it is something that money is familiar with.

That’s where a lot of money is.

In the corporate and employment culture, these individuals are the cream of the crop.

Once you reach that level it’s like mission-completed.

The money you earn at that point doesn’t depreciate, you can leverage your role greatly.

Getting to this level is the hard part and takes a lifetime for the average person.

However, it’s not impossible and can be done.

It’s just a question of whether you want it as bad and if you’re willing to work for it.

Specialist position

These are like the cheat codes of a game.

A role that’s considered specialist suggests no one can do what you can do, except another specialist cut from the same cloth.

Specialist roles are niche, and a reason why this is a good vehicle to get to the money is because the skill is not available everywhere.

To put it simply, being a specialist will allow you to change whatever price you feel is fair for services.

As a specialist, you know what’s required; you know what will work vs not work; you have the knowledge and skill readily available to use – so when someone needs it, you can support it right away.

If there’s a demand for what a specialist is offering then this is where you’ll find the money.

For example, when we look at doctors, this is why the financial reward of being a doctor is very healthy – because doctors are specialists.

Not everyone can do what a doctor can do.

In the tech industry, there are a range of specialisms people can pursue that wouldn’t necessarily be available elsewhere.

The key thing to remember here is that everyone is moving towards technology, arguably every industry, so if you have a specialism in tech, from an area where industries want to transform, then that sets you up nicely for a fruitful career.

Let’s not forget that the type of work done involves high levels of complexity.

So what do you think that does to the sum of money you can get?

Your bank account will be smiling.

You no longer need to ask where the money is, the money will find its way to your doorstep.

It’s not about speed, it’s about how long you’ve been doing this for – longevity.

You can’t outwork experience.

Experience comes from the work you put in.

That’s why, what you do matters every single time.

I’m not saying you won’t be able to realise financial rewards early on, but on average, what’s the likelihood?

This is where you have to be honest with yourself.

For how long have you been in this field? Is your theme to get rich quickly, or get rich properly?

You’re only going to find money when you’ve dedicated many years to this industry. Earlier we spoke about executives – the people at the top.

We know they’re sitting nice with a very large and healthy bank account – but have you wondered, how long does it take to get to that level?

That’s a very good question – on average how long does it take to become an executive?

It takes decades worth of hard work and commitment, you don’t usually see people walking into these roles after 1 or 2 years of experience.

What you’ll find is that people will pay you more, based on years of experience.

So it’s important to note, that you need to be putting in hours.

If you want the type of money that’s satisfying, you’ll make sure this is reflected in your years of service.

It’s not complicated, it’s simple… The more years you work in any area, the more seasoned and well-acquainted you become.

Your years of experience will speak for itself.

You tend to see this pattern over time as well.

Depending on how consistent you’ve been over many years, the type of money you get will reflect that.

Let’s take this simple example, you have two individuals, person A who’s a specialist in IT with 3 years of experience; and person B who’s been in the game for 10+ years – who do you think will get more money, on average?

Where you’ll largely find the money in tech is through business ventures and taping into the business side of tech.

It’s a business at the end of the day – a really big lucrative one, if you’re business savvy and make all the right moves.

Question – what would you call Steve Jobs? Was he a businessman or a tech guy?

You see, one of the ways you’ll realise a lot of earning potential is by looking at tech from a business lens.

It’s all well and good being the smartest coder in the room, but if you don’t know how to make that a business or make money from it, then you’re probably not as smart as you thought you were.

If you didn’t get the jist already, the people in the room who make the decisions for a business are the people who make the most money.

Period! Why’s that?

And how is that? – They understand business.

You don’t have to be the smartest person in the room, but if you know how to pull different ideas bring people together, and make money, then you’re one step ahead of the game.

Having a business mind enables you to look outside of your current sphere and think of things outside the box, which may or may not add value.

A business mindset isn’t just about making money, it’s about ideas; and coming up with solutions to problems; which decisions will lead to better results?

At the heart of the tech industry, it’s business that drives it forward. So one of the best ways you can make money in the tech industry is by doing it yourself.

Become an entrepreneur.

If you have an idea, take that idea, drive it through, and make it happen.

Every successful tech company got started by an entrepreneur – and that’s still the case, nothing’s changed.

But of course, you have to be savvy.

You need to know the business you’re in.

You need to know what skills are required to succeed. You need to learn.

You need to be ready to go through the uncomfortable journey of teaching yourself.

Here are three things that having a business mindset showed me:

• Ownership
• Opportunity
• How to make money

Ownership

When you’re working for something you own, the reward is yours – plain and simple.

You don’t take a percentage of it; you don’t share it with anybody, it’s yours – you own it!

And because you own it, you get to decide your price – no one decides that but you.

Opportunity

Having a business mindset helps you see opportunity in the space that you work in.

In tech, new things are happening every day.

For many businesses, they’ve only scratched the surface, there’s no telling what could happen with technology at its full scale.

The mere fact that this is an industry that’s continuously growing suggests there’s still opportunity.

How to make money

When you go from learning a skill to becoming a specialist and converting skills into a means to make money yourself – that’s when you’ve become a business-person and realised how to make money.

Identifying the skills you have in tech, and knowing what to do with those to make money puts you ahead of many people in the industry.

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