At a Glance: IT Career Paths and Starting Salaries
Systems Analyst
You’ll analyse existing IT systems and help specify new ones — examining how well current systems, software and hardware fit business needs, and what future ones might be needed. You’ll need to be technically proficient with strong analytical skills, and while it’s not a purely back-office role (you’ll often train users on new systems), a great deal of the work happens on client sites.
Entry-level salaries typically start around £28,000–£38,000. See our Business Analyst salary guide for a closely related role’s full UK breakdown.
IT Support Analyst
Think of this as helpdesk support — providing technical set-up, advice and support to IT users, either within one large company or across external clients. Entry-level pay typically starts at £22,000–£30,000.
Honest heads-up: this is the one category on this list that’s actually shrinking. Prospects/techUK data shows general IT support and IT technician roles declining as more first-line issues get automated. It’s still a common entry point into IT, but pairing it with a specialism (security, cloud, or scripting) will matter more than it used to for long-term progression.
Software Developer
You’ll design, build and maintain software applications — writing and testing code, usually after working with clients or colleagues to define requirements. A mix of technical and interpersonal skills matters here, and plenty of employers will train up strong logical thinkers even without an IT-specific degree.
Junior developers typically start at £28,000–£38,000, rising to £45,000–£65,000 at mid-level and £70,000–£95,000+ at senior level. See our software developer salary guide and senior software engineer salary guide for the full UK breakdown by experience.
Network Engineer
One of the most technically demanding paths on this list — managing company networks from setup through to maintenance, upgrades, data storage, security and disaster recovery. You’ll need a computer-science-related degree and should expect to keep collecting technical qualifications throughout your career.
Entry-level salaries typically start around £28,000–£40,000, with strong overlap into cloud infrastructure roles as networks increasingly live in the cloud rather than on-premise.
Cloud Engineer
The clearest growth story on this list. Cloud engineers build and maintain the cloud infrastructure (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud) that most modern businesses now run on — and demand has outpaced supply for several years running.
Entry-level salaries start at £40,000–£55,000, rising to £55,000–£75,000 mid-level and £80,000–£110,000+ senior — among the highest starting points on this entire list. Certifications (AWS, Azure) can add £5,000–£15,000 on top of base salary expectations.
Business Analyst
A natural communicator’s role — comfortable talking to both tech experts and business stakeholders. You’ll analyse customer needs and translate them into a project plan for a technical solution. You don’t necessarily need an IT-specific degree, but some technical fluency plus project management and problem-solving skills go a long way.
Entry-level pay typically starts around £28,000–£38,000. See our business analyst salary guide for the full breakdown by experience and sector.
Project Manager
If you like organising people, time and tasks — ideally all three — this is worth building toward. You’ll be responsible for making sure IT projects meet requirements, on time and on budget, working closely with both technical teams and senior business managers. It’s genuinely a role to grow into rather than walk straight into as a graduate.
IT Project Managers typically earn £40,000–£55,000 to start once in the role, rising to £80,000–£105,000+ at senior level. See our project manager salary guide for the full picture.
IT Consultant
“Consultant” gets attached to a lot of IT job titles, so read the description carefully. In its simplest form, you’ll provide technical expertise to external clients and help develop their IT systems — anything from pitching for work to system design and after-sales support.
Entry-level salaries are broadly similar to Systems Analyst and Business Analyst roles, around £28,000–£38,000, though this varies significantly by consultancy size and specialism.
Cybersecurity Analyst
One of the fastest-growing IT career paths in the UK right now. You’ll monitor networks for threats, investigate incidents, and help strengthen an organisation’s defences — demand for this specialism has grown enough that 70% of UK tech hiring managers say they’re willing to pay a premium for it.
Entry-level Security Operations Analyst roles start around £30,000–£42,000, rising to £48,000–£65,000 mid-level and £70,000–£90,000+ senior. See our cyber security salary guide for the full UK breakdown.
QA Analyst
QA stands for quality assurance — you’ll test programs, software and games before release, usually working from a test plan to inspect code for errors. Strong attention to detail and analytical thinking are essential, and most employers prefer an IT-related degree for this one.
Entry-level salaries typically start around £26,000–£36,000.
AI Specialist
The highest-paying path on this entire list. AI specialists design, implement and maintain the services and architecture behind AI systems — genuinely rare skills that are in very high demand, with Prospects/techUK data confirming AI roles pay the most of any tech specialism in 2026.
Machine Learning Engineers typically start at £45,000–£60,000, rising to £65,000–£85,000 mid-level and £90,000–£130,000+ senior — AI Research Scientist roles can exceed £100,000–£160,000+ at senior level. See our data scientist salary guide for a closely adjacent role’s full breakdown.
Data Visualisation Specialist
You’ll help people understand what data actually means by turning it into visual form — a complicated spreadsheet into a clear infographic, for instance. It combines technical interpretation with genuine creative and communication skills, usually as part of a close-knit team.
This role sits close to the broader Data Analyst path, which typically starts at £28,000–£40,000. See our data analyst salary guide for the full UK breakdown.
Which IT Career Paths Are Actually Growing in 2026?
Per Prospects/techUK’s 2026 graduate labour market analysis, growth is concentrated in cyber security, IT business analysis, systems architecture and design — while general IT support, IT technician and web design roles have been declining as automation absorbs more of the generalist, lower-specialism work. AI and computer science graduates also post the strongest early-career outcomes of any subject group: 65% and 63% full-time employment respectively, against a 56.4% average across all graduates, with the vast majority landing in professional-level roles. If you’re choosing between paths on this list purely on future-proofing, weight cloud, cybersecurity and AI/data roles over the more generalist support and web design routes.
Sources: techUK / Prospects, “Graduate tech careers in 2026” by Charlie Ball; IT Job Board, “IT & Tech Job Salaries in the UK (2026)”
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