Looking to leverage your tech skills to earn a substantial salary? As a leading innovation hub, Massachusetts offers some of the country‘s hottest – and best compensating – careers in technology.
I‘ve compiled the 8 most lucrative tech jobs currently in demand across the state. I‘ll give you insights into responsibilities, skill requirements, companies hiring, salary ranges, job outlook, and more – so you can make an informed career decision.
So if you want to maximize both income and professional growth potential in tech, read on!
Overview: Why is Tech Pay So High in Massachusetts
With housing prices 124% above national averages [1], the steep cost of living in Massachusetts necessitates strong salaries, especially in metropolitan areas. Plus, the state‘s world-class universities churn out tech talent, while an active startup culture keeps skills in high demand.
This combination allows technology professionals to command premium pay – averaging total compensation packages over $100k.
To put things in perspective, the overall national average salary hovers around $56k [2]. Tech workers in MA blow that benchmark away.
Let‘s delve into the 8 most lucrative roles:
UX Designer
Craft digital products that put the user first
| Salary Progress | Boston Salary |
|---|---|
| Entry-level | $80,000 |
| 5 years exp | $110,000 |
| Senior-level | $135,000 |
Average Base Pay: $98,416 per year [3]
Salary Range: $80k – $135k
As a UX designer…
Daily responsibilities:
- Conduct user research
- Wireframe site maps and workflows
- Prototype potential features and interfaces
- Design visual mockups
- Conduct usability testing
- Iterate based on feedback
Most valued skills:
- User empathy
- Information architecture
- Interaction design
- Visual design
- Analytics proficiency
Education and Experience:
- Bachelor‘s in design, HCI or related field
- Strong portfolio showcasing projects
Companies hiring:
- Amazon – Emphasis on customer obsession makes UX crucial
- Unity – Build tools for video game developers
- Oracle – Enhance enterprise-level SaaS platforms
Job satisfaction: 4.1 out of 5 stars on Glassdoor
UX designers build rewarding careers crafting intuitive digital experiences for customers. High demand also leads to ample career growth potential in this field.
Quality Engineer
Ensure system reliability and functionality
| Salary Progress | Boston Salary |
|---|---|
| Entry-level | $70,000 |
| 5 years exp | $105,000 |
| Senior-level | $140,000 |
Average Base Pay: $88,074 per year [4]
Salary Range: $70k – $140k
As a quality engineer…
Daily responsibilities:
- Develop testing plans and documentation
- Design test cases to cover all code paths
- Identify defects and bugs in releases
- Monitor KPIs around system performance
- Recommend process changes to meet benchmarks
Most valued skills:
- Understanding SDLC processes
- SQL and database administration
- Strong communication ability
Education and Experience:
- Bachelor‘s in CS, CE or related
- 3-5 years of QA experience
Companies hiring:
- Raytheon – Work on defense systems
- Intellect – Fintech solutions
- Schneider Electric – Energy management
Job satisfaction: 3.9 out of 5 stars on Glassdoor
Quality engineers play a crucial role in building and verifying reliable systems. They are also well-compensated for their QA expertise.
Product Manager
Strategize product roadmaps aligned to business goals
| Salary Progress | Boston Salary |
|---|---|
| Entry-level | $95,000 |
| 5 years exp | $135,000 |
| Senior-level | $180,000 |
Average Base Pay: $126,555 per year [5]
Salary Range: $95k – $180k
As a product manager…
Daily responsibilities:
- Pitch and define new product concepts
- Construct business cases for investment
- Guide engineering team towards vision
- Track market trends and competition
- Employ data to inform decisions
- Refine roadmap priorities
Most valued skills:
- Market analysis
- Data analytics
- Cross-functional leadership
- Stakeholder management
Education and Experience:
- BA in business, finance or engineering
- Proven track record delivering tech products
Companies hiring:
- Wayfair – Lead initiatives for UX obsessed org
- Staples – Omnichannel retail solutions
- Harvard U – Edtech innovation
Job satisfaction: 3.8 out of 5 stars on Glassdoor
Product managers leverage business savvy and technical skills to shape product roadmaps. Although demanding, this lucrative role offers substantial leadership opportunities.
Back End Engineer
Architect robust and scalable system infrastructure
| Salary Progress | Boston Salary |
|---|---|
| Entry-level | $95,000 |
| 5 years exp | $140,000 |
| Senior-level | $170,000 |
Average Base Pay: $123,974 per year [6]
Salary Range: $95k – $170k
As a back end engineer…
Daily responsibilities:
- Design relational databases
- Develop APIs and microservices
- Code custom reusable libraries
- Optimize query performance
- Monitor infrastructure health
- Scale capacity as needed
Most valued skills:
- Fluency in Java, Python or Go
- Cloud platform expertise
- CI/CD process mastery
- Container orchestration
Education and Experience:
- Bachelor‘s in CS or CE
- 5+ years building distributed systems
Companies hiring:
- Capital One – Major fintech solutions
- Harvard U. – Cutting-edge R&D
- Kappa – High frequency trading systems
Job satisfaction: 4.0 out of 5 stars on Glassdoor
Back end engineers power large complex apps by creating versatile and speedy infrastructure. In return, they earn some of tech‘s highest salaries – especially in MA.
Cyber Security Analyst
Safeguard systems and data from digital threats
| Salary Progress | Boston Salary |
|---|---|
| Entry-level | $75,000 |
| 5 years exp | $105,000 |
| Senior-level | $115,000 |
Average Base Pay: $91,743 per year [7]
Salary Range: $75k – $115k
As a cyber security analyst…
Daily responsibilities:
- Perform vulnerability tests
- Monitor systems for suspicious activity
- Research emerging attack trends
- Make upgrade recommendations
- Educate employees on threats
Most valued skills:
- Penetration testing
- Security information management
- Cyber risk assessment
- Technical writing ability
Education and Experience:
- Bachelor‘s in CS, CE or IA
- Security certifications like CISA
Companies hiring:
- MIT – Pioneering R&D institution
- Staples – Secure extensive supply chain
- Amwell – Telehealth solutions
Job satisfaction: 4.0 out of 5 stars on Glassdoor
Cyber security analysts leverage their ethical hacking abilities to protect organizational assets. Strong demand makes this a stable and lucrative tech career choice.
Azure Engineer
Architect and manage cloud infrastructure
| Salary Progress | Boston Salary |
|---|---|
| Entry-level | $95,000 |
| 5 years exp | $140,000 |
| Senior-level | $160,000 |
Average Base Pay: $119,835 per year [8]
Salary Range: $95k – $160k
As an Azure engineer…
Daily responsibilities:
- Plan and execute cloud migrations
- Configure availability sets
- Automate deployments
- Monitor performance
- Manage access controls
- Optimize costs
Most valued skills:
- Deep Azure services knowledge
- Linux administration
- Infrastructure orchestration
Education and Experience:
- Bachelor‘s in CS, CE or cloud specialty
- Azure certifications recommended
Companies hiring:
- CVS Health – Major healthcare provider
- MassMutual – Fortune 100 insurance firm
- Wells Fargo – Leading national bank
Job satisfaction: 4.1 out of 5 stars on Glassdoor
Azure engineers possess niche skills to structure cloud-based systems leveraged by 95% of Fortune 500 companies [9]. Strong demand amplifies earning potential.
Data Scientist
Uncover impactful insights from complex data
| Salary Progress | Boston Salary |
|---|---|
| Entry-level | $95,000 |
| 5 years exp | $135,000 |
| Senior-level | $161,000 |
Average Base Pay: $122,328 per year [10]
Salary Range: $95k – $161k
As a data scientist…
Daily responsibilities:
- Build data collection pipelines
- Perform statistical analysis
- Develop machine learning models
- Optimize model performance
- Quantify business impacts
- Produce reports and visualizations
Most valued skills:
- Statistical programming in R or Python
- Machine learning theory
- Complex data modeling
- Cross-functional collaboration
Education and Experience:
- Master‘s degree in data science, analytics or ML
- 3-5 years analyzing large datasets
Companies hiring:
- Wayfair – Optimize UX
- IBM – Cutting-edge global tech
- NVIDIA – ML hardware innovations
Job satisfaction: 4.0 out of 5 stars on Glassdoor
Data scientists translate numbers into actionable business insights. Strong demand makes this complex but rewarding role lucrative.
Game Developer
Build immersive gaming experiences
| Salary Progress | Boston Salary |
|---|---|
| Entry-level | $65,000 |
| 5 years exp | $90,000 |
| Senior-level | $95,000 |
Average Base Pay: $81,034 per year [11]
Salary Range: $65k – $95k
As a game developer…
Daily responsibilities:
- Conceptualize game ideas
- Program gameplay functionality
- Develop 3D models and assets
- Incorporate narratives
- Debug defects pre-release
- Continuously improve gameplay
Most valued skills:
- Fluency in C++, C# or Java
- 3D modeling
- Complex software architectures
- Creative passion
Education and Experience:
- Bachelor’s in video game programming
- Advanced computer graphics skills
Companies hiring:
- Amazon – AAA studios
- Bethesda – Blockbuster RPG creator
- Unity – Top game engine
Job satisfaction: 4.2 out of 5 stars on Glassdoor
Game developers fuse technical prowess with boundless creativity. Smaller niche career, but fulfilling and lucrative in hot gaming hubs like MA.
Key Takeaways on Massachusetts‘ High Paying Tech Jobs
With world-leading companies across industries seeking technical talent, Massachusetts offers well-compensated careers in high-demand technology domains.
Whether you aspire to guide strategic product direction, architect robust infrastructure, analyze complex data, develop captivating games – or defend critical systems from cyber threats – pursuing these roles in MA can prove highly lucrative.
I hope mapping out responsibilities, skill requirements, sample employers, salary ranges, and more provides helpful insight into unlocking your career goals.
Let me know if you have any other questions! I‘m happy to lend my insider industry expertise.
Wishing you success,
[Your name]
References
- Housing Costs In Boston vs National Average: https://livingcost.org/cost/united-states/ma
- Average Salary Information (Payscale): https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Country=United_States/Salary
- UX Designer Salaries in MA: https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/massachusetts-ux-designer-salary-SRCH_IL.0,13_IS3399_KO14,25.htm
- Quality Engineer Salaries in MA: https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/massachusetts-quality-engineer-salary-SRCH_IL.0,13_IS3399_KO14,30.htm
- Product Manager Salaries in MA: https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/massachusetts-product-manager-salary-SRCH_IL.0,13_IS3399_KO14,29.htm
- Back End Engineer Salaries in MA: https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/massachusetts-back-end-engineer-salary-SRCH_IL.0,13_IS3399_KO14,31.htm
- Cyber Security Analyst Salaries in MA: https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/massachusetts-cyber-security-analyst-salary-SRCH_IL.0,13_IS3399_KO14,36.htm
- Azure Engineer Salaries in MA: https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/massachusetts-azure-engineer-salary-SRCH_IL.0,13_IS3399_KO14,28.htm
- Microsoft Azure Usage By Fortune 500: https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-touts-azure-as-95-of-fortune-500-use-its-cloud/
- Data Scientist Salaries in MA: https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/massachusetts-data-scientist-salary-SRCH_IL.0,13_IS3399_KO14,28.htm
- Game Developer Salaries in MA: https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/massachusetts-game-developer-salary-SRCH_IL.0,13_IS3399_KO14,28.htm
