Post job

Technology strategist vs information technology manager

The differences between technology strategists and information technology managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-8 years to become both a technology strategist and an information technology manager. Additionally, a technology strategist has an average salary of $138,362, which is higher than the $119,589 average annual salary of an information technology manager.

The top three skills for a technology strategist include digital transformation, azure and architecture. The most important skills for an information technology manager are customer service, project management, and database.

Technology strategist vs information technology manager overview

Technology StrategistInformation Technology Manager
Yearly salary$138,362$119,589
Hourly rate$66.52$57.49
Growth rate16%16%
Number of jobs67,147108,179
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 65%Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Average age4747
Years of experience88

What does a technology strategist do?

A technology strategist spearheads the development of a company's technological structures, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. Their responsibilities typically revolve around conducting research and analysis to identify the strengths and weaknesses of a company's information technology systems, designing and implementing strategies to optimize operations, coordinating with different departments to identify their needs, and assessing existing structures to recommend enhancement for optimal quality. Furthermore, a technology strategist may provide technical support and mentor staff, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations when it comes to information technology.

What does an information technology manager do?

An information technology manager is responsible for supervising tasks for the company's network and information systems operations. Information technology managers require excellent knowledge of the information systems industry, a strong command of programming languages, and software and hardware application processes. An information technology manager reviews the performance of the IT department staff, ensuring that networks and systems maintain the highest quality and efficiency, and adjusting the specific system updates as needed. Information technology managers monitor the security of the system's database and identify business opportunities to utilize all business systems to improve the company's services.

Technology strategist vs information technology manager salary

Technology strategists and information technology managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Technology StrategistInformation Technology Manager
Average salary$138,362$119,589
Salary rangeBetween $95,000 And $200,000Between $84,000 And $169,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CARichmond, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaNew Hampshire
Best paying companyMetaMeta
Best paying industryInsurance-

Differences between technology strategist and information technology manager education

There are a few differences between a technology strategist and an information technology manager in terms of educational background:

Technology StrategistInformation Technology Manager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 65%Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Most common majorBusinessComputer Science
Most common collegeCarnegie Mellon UniversityCarnegie Mellon University

Technology strategist vs information technology manager demographics

Here are the differences between technology strategists' and information technology managers' demographics:

Technology StrategistInformation Technology Manager
Average age4747
Gender ratioMale, 82.9% Female, 17.1%Male, 84.5% Female, 15.5%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.6% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 9.9% Asian, 14.0% White, 64.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%Black or African American, 6.6% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 9.9% Asian, 12.7% White, 65.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage11%11%

Differences between technology strategist and information technology manager duties and responsibilities

Technology strategist example responsibilities.

  • Lead software vendor evaluations, RFP process, selections and negotiations.
  • Switch data network from frame relay to manage internet with VPN.
  • Manage a team of programmers in administering human resources and payroll processes for 6000 employees.
  • Lead a series of enterprise OS upgrades and applications enhancements to replace lease terminal device services.
  • Maintain all departmental training documents and manage escalated tickets queues to ensure timely resolutions while exceeding SLA's.
  • Manage service and maintenance subcontractors for diesel generators, fire alarms, building automation, security and HVAC systems.
  • Show more

Information technology manager example responsibilities.

  • Manage all systems onboarding & offboarding of all employees, manage all account access on all company systems & equipment setup.
  • Manage NFS mounts from NAS devices and setup auto-mounts for the server farm.
  • Manage applications support for Lawson, Meditech, ChartMaxx and McKesson PACs system.
  • Negotiate and manage the company through several Telecom agreements for voice, data and wireless.
  • Manage production turnovers by conducting performance tests, and reviewing SQL coding standards and methods.
  • Manage 3rd party vendors supporting legacy 3Com, Avaya, Nortel, and Cisco platforms.
  • Show more

Technology strategist vs information technology manager skills

Common technology strategist skills
  • Digital Transformation, 25%
  • Azure, 11%
  • Architecture, 10%
  • Healthcare, 6%
  • Project Management, 5%
  • Business Value, 4%
Common information technology manager skills
  • Customer Service, 12%
  • Project Management, 9%
  • Database, 4%
  • Network Infrastructure, 4%
  • SAN, 3%
  • SQL Server, 3%

Browse executive management jobs