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Job outlook for information specialists in the United States
Information specialist job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected information specialist job growth rate is 10% from 2018-2028.
About 83,100 new jobs for information specialists are projected over the next decade.
Information specialist salaries have increased 9% for information specialists in the last 5 years.
There are over 16,083 information specialists currently employed in the United States.
There are 121,168 active information specialist job openings in the US.
The average information specialist salary is $69,502.
Are information specialist jobs in demand?
Information specialist job and salary trends over time
Information specialist jobs over time
Information specialist job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 16,083 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 14,801 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 9,612 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 4,729 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 4,602 | 0.00% |
Average information specialist salary over time
Information specialist salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $69,502 | $33.41 | +3.4% |
| 2025 | $67,211 | $32.31 | +2.3% |
| 2024 | $65,690 | $31.58 | +1.5% |
| 2023 | $64,698 | $31.10 | +1.7% |
| 2022 | $63,641 | $30.60 | +1.6% |
Information specialist jobs by state
Most common states for information specialists
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 462 | 67% |
| 2 | North Dakota | 755,393 | 277 | 37% |
| 3 | Vermont | 623,657 | 191 | 31% |
| 4 | South Dakota | 869,666 | 259 | 30% |
| 5 | Alaska | 739,795 | 211 | 29% |
| 6 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 534 | 28% |
| 7 | Wyoming | 579,315 | 163 | 28% |
| 8 | Delaware | 961,939 | 261 | 27% |
| 9 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 1,767 | 26% |
| 10 | Montana | 1,050,493 | 274 | 26% |
| 11 | Utah | 3,101,833 | 783 | 25% |
| 12 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 339 | 25% |
| 13 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 269 | 25% |
| 14 | Oregon | 4,142,776 | 945 | 23% |
| 15 | Iowa | 3,145,711 | 736 | 23% |
| 16 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 1,232 | 22% |
| 17 | Idaho | 1,716,943 | 380 | 22% |
| 18 | Maine | 1,335,907 | 289 | 22% |
| 19 | Colorado | 5,607,154 | 1,099 | 20% |
| 20 | Virginia | 8,470,020 | 1,646 | 19% |
Most common cities for information specialists
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | College Park | 1 | 3% | $92,766 |
| 2 | Fallbrook | 1 | 3% | $73,239 |
| 3 | Sugar Land | 2 | 2% | $58,015 |
| 4 | Boston | 6 | 1% | $91,240 |
| 5 | Baltimore | 4 | 1% | $93,153 |
| 6 | Washington | 4 | 1% | $91,892 |
| 7 | Charleston | 1 | 1% | $70,678 |
| 8 | New York | 3 | 0% | $93,121 |
| 9 | Chicago | 2 | 0% | $74,804 |
| 10 | San Francisco | 2 | 0% | $86,985 |
| 11 | Buffalo | 1 | 0% | $88,827 |
| 12 | Colorado Springs | 1 | 0% | $42,568 |
| 13 | Des Moines | 1 | 0% | $47,023 |
| 14 | Detroit | 1 | 0% | $86,210 |
| 15 | Fayetteville | 1 | 0% | $74,608 |
| 16 | Fort Worth | 1 | 0% | $56,552 |
Information Specialist job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of information specialist experts
Governors State University
University of Oklahoma
Texas A&M University San Antonio
University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
Arizona State University
DePaul University
University of Nebraska at Omaha
Grand Valley State University
Tiffin University
New York Institute of Technology
What Information Specialist skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Rich Manprisio MPM, PMP: Make sure you stay on top of the latest developments with technology. With the fluidity of technology, students today need to have the solid groundwork of a degree in IT but also understand things are continually changing and this need to always be continuing their learning and professional development.
What will help Information Specialists increase their earning potential?
Rich Manprisio MPM, PMP: Certifications help set you apart from other graduates. When just starting out focus on vendor neutral certifications that can show potential employers that you are willing to get the necessary additional certifications that are prevalent in the IT field.
Susan Burke Ph.D.
Director & Associate ProfessorUniversity of Oklahoma
School of Library and Information Studies
What skills stand out on Information Specialist resumes?
Susan Burke Ph.D.: I regularly hear from employers in the information science field (particularly in libraries), and the number one thing they look for on applicants' resumes is work experience in a library setting. I recommend to students that if they have not worked in a library, they should find a way to get some practical work experience by working part-time in a library, doing an internship in a library, or at least asking a librarian if they can do a job shadowing for a few hours to get a feel for what the real workplace is like.
What soft skills should all Information Specialists possess?
Susan Burke Ph.D.: Soft skills are the second most common thing I hear from library employers as being important for the profession. We recently surveyed our stakeholders on skills needed from our graduates and employers offered these suggestions for types of soft skills: Ability to show patience and compassion when helping and teaching people, interacting with people experiencing mental health issues and those experiencing homelessness, dealing with difficult customer interactions and conflict resolution, ability to reach out and make connections in the community, and commitment to lifelong learning.
What hard/technical skills are most important for Information Specialists?
Susan Burke Ph.D.: Our survey of stakeholders identified these skills as very important in the information sciences: data analytics, data management, website design, SQL, computer programming/coding, emerging technologies, metadata, digitization and digital curation skills, R, python, server administration, and things like using social media for marketing.
What skills will help Information Specialists earn the most?
Susan Burke Ph.D.: I would say that moving into leadership positions would be the way to higher earnings in this field. Administration, management, leadership skills. These include strategic planning, teamwork/collaboration, outcomes-based assessments, program management and planning, and the ability to use data to inform decisions and planning.
Robert Vinaja Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Computer Information SystemsTexas A&M University San Antonio
Computer Information Systems Department
What soft skills should all Information Specialists possess?
Robert Vinaja Ph.D.: -Ability to work as part of a team.
-Attention to detail.
-Problem-solving and analytical skills.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Information Specialists?
Derek Nazareth Ph.D.: The pandemic will have a lingering effect in several ways. The current holding pattern on hiring that characterizes many organizations will subside as organizations move towards normalcy. However, a number of practices that moved online will remain that way, due to convenience and cost, including recruitment and on-the-job training. Graduates will need to be more savvy in terms of working independently, as well as communicating and collaborating with others in remote fashion. Other practices that organizations were experimenting with pre-pandemic have become more prevalent in some cases. This includes reliance on consultants and external workers as embodied in the gig economy. That would mean more competition for graduates from outside the geographical area. On the flip side, it also offers graduates the opportunity to compete in remote markets.
Hemanth Kumar Demakethepalli Venkateswara Ph.D.
Assistant Research ProfessorArizona State University
School of Computing Informatics
What will help Information Specialists increase their earning potential?
Hemanth Kumar Demakethepalli Venkateswara Ph.D.: Technology is always rapidly changing. A tried and tested approach to improve professionally is by updating oneself through a process of life-long learning. For example, in the AI field, a researcher updates themselves by attending top-tier AI conferences, reading the latest publications from top-tier conferences, re-implementing the results published in a paper, testing out new libraries that are published, and attempting to generate new ideas. A similar approach can be applied to other areas as well.
What will help Information Specialists increase their earning potential?
Jacob Furst: Anything you do in your work that goes beyond expectations will provide benefit later on. Extra education, certifications, volunteering for tough assignments, getting to know you coworkers better, creating a fun and interesting workplace for you and peers. Again, no magic. Always be looking for ways to be better.
Deepak Khazanchi Ph.D.
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Community Engagement & Internationalization Officer, Professor of Information Systems & Quantitative Analysis, Director, Executive Master’s of Science in Information Technology (EMIT) Program, Executive Director, Center for Management of IT (CMIT), Fulbright Grantee (Specialist 2014; Core 2020-21)University of Nebraska at Omaha
College of Information Science & Technology
What's a good job out of college for Information Specialists?
Deepak Khazanchi Ph.D.: I think the "best" and "interesting" jobs in my view will be those that leverage emerging technical skills such as AI/ML, data analytics, cybersecurity and medical informatics, with the nontechnical capabilities mentioned above.
What technical skills for an Information Specialist stand out to employers?
Chirag Parikh Ph.D.: If you ask me, I consider valuable experience over good paycheck. Once you have gained that experience the paycheck will follow. As soon as you are out of college, the knowledge gained is very fresh and raring to go. If put into the right place can enhance your technical skills and you can do wonders.
As a Computer Engineering professor, I would say the job opportunities are tremendous for students out of college as they can venture into hardware field (technical support, hardware engineer, test engineer and much more) as well as software field (software engineer, software developer, software tester and much more). The possibilities are endless.
With COVID and employees working remotely there is still ample opportunity to enhance your technical and interpersonal skills as I believe remote working might stay for a while till things get back to normal.
What experience really stands out on Information Specialist resumes?
George Miller: For graduates any experience stands out on a resume and it does not need to be related to their field of study. I tell students to do whatever to get experience. This can be with community volunteer work, at their college through clubs and organization and with professional employment.
There are many organization and government paid internship and co-op opportunities for students within all fields. There is no reason why every student cannot find some sort of internship/co-op during a summer break. Many times, an internship/co-op turns into full time employment. Often high schools and colleges are doing major technology upgrades within the summer months (because they are shut down during this period) and would welcome a student as an IS major as an intern. But volunteer work at the local church or favorite charity can also provide valuable experience. As I opened with this answer any experience stands out on a resume. The experience shows that a graduate has drive and determination.
What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for Information Specialists in the next 3-5 years?
Babak Beheshti Ph.D.: -The enormous growth of IoT and wearables. The number of connected devices is expected to be more than 26 billion in 2020. That includes things like household appliances, controllable lighting, and much more. This trend is likely to continue as it is expected to see the industry grow to 661 billion dollars by 2021.
-We will be witnessing a more widespread commercial deployment of 5G in 2020. With the implementation of the Standalone 5G devices based on the 3gpp release 16, we should be seeing the more robust mobile broadband deployment of 5G, wider availability of 5G smartphones, and a push towards an all 5G Network in select urban areas around the world.
-Significant growth in AI-based technologies, from face recognition and voice recognition to business intelligence and market predictions. As machines and deep learning algorithms get integrated into many applications, many industries will undergo substantial changes. AI systems will continue to interact with our phones; cars will interpret and analyze their surroundings and intelligently drive themselves. Online vendors will monitor our browsing habits, and Google decides what kind of search results to give us, based on who it thinks we are.