How To Become A Technical Infrastructure Manager: What It Is and Career Path

What is a technical infrastructure manager and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Matthew Liotine Ph.D.

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a technical infrastructure manager. For example, did you know that they make an average of $67.68 an hour? That's $140,780 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 16% and produce 82,400 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a technical infrastructure manager?

Matthew Liotine Ph.D.

Clinical Professor and Director of Master of Science in Supply Chain and Operations Management, University of Illinois at Chicago

Most employers tell me that soft skills are equally, if not more important, than technical skills or domain knowledge. This translates into external/internal customer-facing skills, such as communication, team collaboration, writing, presentation, problem-solving, and being resourceful. (Many graduates overlook writing as a vital skill, but they fail to realize that in the course of their jobs, they will likely be required to write lots of memos and tons of emails.) The need to perfect these skills within the confines of a virtual world has become even more challenging and amplified with COVID. I teach in the information systems discipline, and when you view student resumes, many people look the same on paper. The soft skills will make a candidate stand out head and shoulders above the rest. That's why the candidate should pay attention to the screening interviews that they will undergo during the hiring process since employers will use these interviews to vet these skills.

ScoreTechnical Infrastructure ManagerUS Average

Salary

8.7

Avg. Salary $140,780

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.6

Growth rate 16%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

1.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.21%

Asian 13.86%

Black or African American 6.49%

Hispanic or Latino 9.74%

Unknown 5.18%

White 64.53%

Gender

female 8.85%

male 91.15%

Age - 47

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 47

Stress level

8.6

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.7

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.1

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a technical infrastructure manager

Explore technical infrastructure manager education requirements

Most common technical infrastructure manager degrees

Bachelor's

66.0 %

Associate

16.7 %

Master's

11.8 %

Start to develop specific technical infrastructure manager skills

Skills	Percentages
Cloud	13.54%
Disaster Recovery	6.17%
ITIL	5.95%
Infrastructure Management	5.92%
VMware	5.14%

Complete relevant technical infrastructure manager training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New technical infrastructure managers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a technical infrastructure manager based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real technical infrastructure manager resumes.

Research technical infrastructure manager duties and responsibilities

Manage upgrades of ERP, VoIP, and storage systems.
Manage vendor relationships to include outsource contracted services, contractors and maintain established SLA's.
Manage multiple vendor relationships, including contract negotiations, finance oversight, technology and operation requirements and ongoing service level agreements.
Direct client facing role with responsibility to deliver solution and support on AIX, Linux and windows.

Apply for technical infrastructure manager jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a technical infrastructure manager job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams