Top-Paying IT Jobs: The Six-Figure Edition
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IT salaries took a hit in the past 12 months, thanks to economic woes, but plenty of $100,000-plus jobs remain.

Median salaries for top-paid IT executives, middle managers and staff at large firms edged up only slightly in the past 12 months, and pay for IT pros at small- to mid-sized firms rose even less, according to IT management consulting firm Janco Associates’ mid-year IT compensation study.

A few positions at large firms (with gross revenues of $500 million or more)—including VP of information services, director of systems and programming, and data warehouse manager—saw pay bumps well beyond the norm between June 2007 and June 2008. Four IT titles—VP of consulting services, systems project manager, software engineer and systems programmer—saw percentage-point decreases in the double digits. Smaller firms (with gross revenues below $500 million) saw less of a drop-off in salary. The median salaries cited in this article are those in the top quartile for each job title listed, as determined by Janco.

But it’s not all bad news.

Despite the economic toll on IT salaries, though, 34 big-company IT jobs bring in $100,000 or more, based on Janco’s benchmark analysis of the paychecks businesses must offer to remain competitive and stave off staff defections. Thirty-two positions at smaller firms are also raking in six figures.

CIOs at large firms should garner $355,290, a 2.75 percent increase over last June’s total, according to Janco’s benchmark. At smaller firms, CIOs saw a more modest pay raise, with salaries inching ahead by one-half percent, to $335,243.

Here’s a look at the top-paying IT management jobs at large firms. Click ahead to salary projections for mid-level managers and staff at those firms, as well as all pros at smaller companies.

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