IT Technician Salary

Nowadays, the bare necessities of life include air, water, food and ... computers! Yes, in today's day and age, one cannot live without computers since these devices play an important role in our everyday work. In fact, in year 2000, around 60% of households in the U.S. owned at least one personal computer. What's more is that nearly every business in the country, right from hospitals to accounting firms and airports have implemented computer systems to handle regular and daily operations. So, can you imagine the number of times a computer may not work properly and you may have to get someone to fix it? Well, this is where an IT technician's work comes into picture. Going by the data presented above, one could imagine the career opportunities when it comes to IT jobs. One point that many people ponder over is the IT technician salary range. However, before we get into the details of salary that an IT technician draws, let us try to understand exactly what these technicians do.

IT Technician Job Description
An IT technician is also known as a computer technician. Job description of a computer technician entails planning, designing and implementing the entire computer network. This would include testing, installing and connecting various computers within the network. Data networks, telecommunication infrastructures, multi-platform computer networking environments, etc. are the different types of networks being installed by technicians; troubleshooting and diagnosing hardware problems, maintaining hardware inventory, taking care of resources, etc. are amongst the important job responsibilities. Maintaining websites on intranets and the Internet is an additional responsibility handled by these professionals. Apart from technical skills, these professionals are also required to possess the necessary skills for problem-solving. In order to solve a particular problem, one has to thoroughly understand it in the first place. It is therefore, important to possess interpersonal skills required for proper communication which helps in getting into the depths of problems. In short, these professionals are responsible for smooth running of computer systems. These are all routine operations carried out by IT technicians. However, sometimes they also have to conduct training sessions. Educating the new users about technology and its potential benefits is one of the additional (yet important) tasks assigned to these technicians.

Salary of an IT technician mainly depends on the place where he/she is employed. Those technicians who work in the research & development departments or in consumer electronic shops, who diagnose & replace parts of the personal computers and who take care of hardware problems, all end up earning slightly more than their counterparts.

IT Technician Average Salary
There are many factors that influence the average IT technician salary of a person. These include the educational qualifications of the candidate, experience, type of employer, etc. It is observed that a college degree is often not necessary to get the job of an IT technician. Any kind of basic certification in computer hardware and software should be enough to get you a head start in this field. A high school diploma or any other qualification that is equivalent to a diploma should be enough (as long as the candidate has the necessary skills and knowledge) to secure a job as IT technician. Many people go on to earn more advanced certifications in network administration or engineering later on in their careers. Average salary range for the job of an IT technician who is just starting out, is somewhere between USD 25,000 and USD 35,000. A senior IT technician salary, that is, the salary of a technician who has been active for more than twenty years can easily be around USD 50,000 to USD 60,000. Many sources, however claim that the annual salary might be even higher than the above-mentioned figure; average salary for a technician with a year's experience is around USD 36,000. Salary of those working in this field for a considerable period of time ranges from USD 30,800 - USD 48,500.

Apart from the educational qualification and experience, salary of IT technicians also depends on other factors such as the city in which a person is living. For example, the average salary of professionals working in New York or Boston is slightly higher than that of their counterparts in Dallas or Atlanta. Given below is a table that details the average computer technician salary on an hourly basis.

IT Technician Salary Per Hour Based on Type of Employer
Industries	Hourly Rate
Information Technology (IT) Services	USD 13.98 - USD 21.35
Healthcare	USD 13.40 - USD 20.84
Education, K-12 Schools	USD 13.41 - USD 20.38
Internet Service Provider (ISP)	USD 13.34 - USD 20.29
Computer Hardware/Software	USD 12.86 - USD 19.55

This was a snapshot of the IT technician salary range. A career in this field is great and lucrative for people who wish to start-off early. The best part is that as there are no such formal or mandatory educational requirements. Those interested can always learn new things and gain experience; they can increase their knowledge in this field along the way. Thus, experience plays a great role in determining the salary package. At the end of the day though, no one can pin point to you exactly how much you can or ought to earn. After all, how much money a person makes is not based on statistics but instead, on the willingness to learn and excel in their field.