Computer and Information Systems Managers
Plan, direct, or coordinate activities in such fields as electronic data processing, information systems, systems analysis, and computer programming.
Computer and Information Systems Managers plan, direct, or coordinate activities in such fields as electronic data processing, information systems, systems analysis, and computer programming. The role reports a median annual salary of $171,200 in the US with the middle 80% earning between $99,710 and $239,200 and is projected to grow 15% over the next decade (much faster than average). Entry typically requires a Bachelor's degree, and shows moderate AI exposure (0.52 on a 0-1 scale) — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. The most in-demand skills for the role include Critical Thinking, Active Listening, Complex Problem Solving, Coordination, Judgment and Decision Making.
Salary distribution (US)
Real salary data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The p10–p90 spread tells you more than the median alone.
Pay in the UK
UK: median £56,438 a year for IT managers (ONS ASHE 2025, full-time)
Middle half of full-time jobs: £44,372 to £73,901 a year
UK jobs are grouped differently; this is the closest UK occupation group (ONS SOC 2020 2132). ONS rates this estimate precise. 2025 provisional figures; ONS revises them a year later. Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (Open Government Licence)
Pay in India (occupation group)
Average monthly earnings of salaried employees in the occupation group “Managers” in India, from the Government of India's Periodic Labour Force Survey (January–December 2025). It covers everyone in this group, not only Computer and Information Systems Managers, and it is not US pay converted to rupees.
Source: MoSPI (Government of India), Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2025, Table 51 — average wage/salary earnings of regular wage/salaried employees, NCO-2015 division 1. Official India data gives one average per occupation group: there are no official India figures for single careers, experience levels or cities. Read the report
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Top skills
Knowledge you'll build
- Computers and Electronics
- Administration and Management
- English Language
- Customer and Personal Service
- Engineering and Technology
- Personnel and Human Resources
- Mathematics
- Telecommunications
A day in the life
You start early with a scan of system-health dashboards and incident reports before diving into a packed calendar of one-on-ones with engineering leads, budget reviews with finance, and roadmap planning sessions with product teams. Your role straddles strategy and execution: one hour you are presenting a cloud-migration business case to the CTO, the next you are unblocking a team stuck on a vendor contract negotiation or mediating a priority conflict between two project managers. You spend time reviewing hiring pipelines, mentoring senior engineers on leadership skills, and ensuring security and compliance standards are met across all technology initiatives. The job is rewarding when your teams deliver on time and your technology vision aligns with business growth, but the constant juggling of people problems, technical debt, and executive expectations makes for long, demanding days.
Illustrative: one typical day. Real days vary by employer and seniority.
What you'd actually do
- Direct daily operations of department, analyzing workflow, establishing priorities, developing standards and setting deadlines.
- Meet with department heads, managers, supervisors, vendors, and others, to solicit cooperation and resolve problems.
- Review project plans to plan and coordinate project activity.
- Assign and review the work of systems analysts, programmers, and other computer-related workers.
- Provide users with technical support for computer problems.
- Develop computer information resources, providing for data security and control, strategic computing, and disaster recovery.
Tools & technology you'd use
Frequently asked questions
What does Computer and Information Systems Managers do?
Plan, direct, or coordinate activities in such fields as electronic data processing, information systems, systems analysis, and computer programming.
What does a typical day look like in Computer and Information Systems Managers?
You start early with a scan of system-health dashboards and incident reports before diving into a packed calendar of one-on-ones with engineering leads, budget reviews with finance, and roadmap planning sessions with product teams. Your role straddles strategy and execution: one hour you are presenting a cloud-migration business case to the CTO, the next you are unblocking a team stuck on a vendor contract negotiation or mediating a priority conflict between two project managers.
How much does Computer and Information Systems Managers earn?
The median annual salary for Computer and Information Systems Managers in the US is $171,200. The middle 80% of workers earn between $99,710 and $239,200 annually. Entry-to-mid-career earners typically fall between $128,640 and $214,000.
What is the job outlook for Computer and Information Systems Managers?
The role is projected to grow 15% over the next decade (much faster than average). Current US employment is approximately 667,100 workers.
How do I become computer and information systems managers?
The typical entry education is a Bachelor's degree. Building a foundation in the top skills below will strengthen your application.
What skills does Computer and Information Systems Managers need?
The most in-demand skills for this role include Critical Thinking, Active Listening, Complex Problem Solving, Coordination, Judgment and Decision Making, Speaking. These are the skills O*NET identifies as most important for competent performance.
Will AI replace Computer and Information Systems Managers?
Our AI-durability model gives Computer and Information Systems Managers a score of 0.52 on a 0-1 scale (higher = more exposure). That places it at moderate AI exposure — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. Learning to work with AI tools rather than against them is the path forward.
How hard is it to enter this field?
Computer and Information Systems Managers has moderate barrier to entry — moderately gated — a bachelor's degree or equivalent training is typically required.