Produced in collaboration with

IoT World
Today

IoT Salary
Survey Report
Our inaugural salary survey reveals
average IoT-related salaries segmented
by job role, job level and company size,
plus bonus information, expectations
for 2020 and more.
By Rich Castagna
January 2020
IoT World
Today

TABLE OF

CONTENTS
3 AUTHOR’S PAGE 11 
Figure 8: Average Salary by Company Size

4 
Solid Salaries Across the Board 12 Looking Ahead to 2020
4 Figure 1: Salary by Job Level 12 
Figure 9: Average Amount of Last Year's Bonus by Industry

4 Healthy Remuneration 13 Figure 10: Years Employed by Current Organization

5 
Profiles of Our Survey Respondents 14 Figure 11: Industry Verticals
5 Figure 2: Job Level 15 Figure 12: Company Size by Number of Employees
6 Figure 3: Job Role 16 
Figure 13: Salary Changes by Company Size

7 
Figure 4: Years Employed by Current Industry 17 Figure 14: Bonus by Company Size (Received Bonus Last Year)
8 Diverse Companies WIth IoT Undertakings 18 
Figure 15: Average Amount of Bonus by Company Size (Received Bonus Last Year)

8 Figure 5: Highest Level of Education Completed 19 Figure 16: Salary, Bonus and Stock Options Expectations for 2020
9 Figure 6: Geographic Locations of Companies

10 
From All Perspectives, Salaries Look Good

10 Figure 7: Salary by Job Role

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AUTHOR’S
Rich Castagna

Rich Castagna is a freelance writer and editor. He has been a

tech journalist for 30 years, covering topics ranging from desktop
apps to small-business computing to enterprise IT. Rich was vice
president of editorial at TechTarget, overseeing an editorial staff
of 110 writers and editors; before that he headed up TechTarget’s
storage coverage both online and in print. Rich also covered tech
for CNet, UBM/CMP and Ziff-Davis publications.

IoT Salary Survey Report

PAGE
January 2020 3
 IoT World
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Solid Salaries Across the Board for IoT Pros

I
t may seem like the term “IoT” only relatively FIGURE 1
recently found its way into our technical
vocabulary, but the concept of the Internet
Salary by Job Level
of Things and many of its related technologies Overall average
have been around for more than two decades now. $112,208
That mix of new ideas and applications plus more
Individual contributor
established, traditional technologies is reflected
$91,672
by the profiles of the people who are building or
enhancing their careers around IoT. Manager/supervisor
The results of the exclusive IoT World Today $97,782
Salary Survey, in its first edition, shows us that
Senior VP/VP
those IoT careers span multiple industry sectors
$138,182
and are thriving in companies of all sizes. And the
rewards of pursuing IoT disciplines are apparent Director
as well, with six-figure salaries, generous bonuses $133,654
and even stock options ubiquitous across all sizes
Owner
and types of companies.
$113,478
Since Kevin Ashton coined the term “The Internet
of Things” in a PowerPoint presentation back in 1990, President/C-level
the category and its associated occupations have $163,523
quickly evolved. Unlike some other technologies
that tend to replace their predecessors, IoT is more Base: 500 respondents

of a culmination of technologies that build upon

one another to achieve new and wide-ranging
functionality. And the IoT workforce reflects that
pedigree, with strong representation from both
baby boomers and millennials.
Our survey also revealed that more than half
of the companies represented in the results are
developing and providing IoT products and services
to other companies, slightly outnumbering those
respondents who are working on IoT projects for
their companies’ internal consumption. And on both
sides of that equation, the respondents’ companies
represent virtually every industry vertical.
Healthy Remuneration
The core findings of the survey are about the
earnings and other perks of the tech workers
who are currently engaged in IoT projects or
other activities on a full- or part-time basis. Those
findings are very encouraging for the people already

IoT Salary Survey Report January 2020 4

 IoT World
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engaged in IoT endeavors and for those who might FIGURE 2

The average annual salary of the survey
respondents is $112,208. That's a very
impressive figure when you consider that
it embraces all levels of employment, all
job functions and roles, all company sizes
and all geographies.
be considering pursing an IoT vocation.
The average annual salary of the survey
respondents is $112,208. That’s a very impressive
figure when you consider that it embraces all levels
of employment, all job functions and roles, all
company sizes, and all geographies. That average
salary also reflects the demand for and importance
of IoT-related skills and experience. In fact, all job
titles represented by the survey results were well-
paid, with a very high “low” average of more than
$91,672 registered by IoT workers identifying
themselves as “individual contributors/staff.”
Profiles of Our Survey Respondents
Our survey only included workers who have
been employed for at least the last 12 months.
We required IoT involvement in order to qualify for
the survey: Most respondents (85%) are currently
involved in at least one IoT project on a full- or
part-time basis, while the remainder, though not
currently engaged in IoT activities, have been in
the recent past (and presumably could be again).
Our sample size of 624 qualified respondents had
a confidence level of 95% with a margin of error of
approximately plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
Eighty-five percent of respondents reported that
they were currently involved with IoT projects. The
remaining 15% have recent experience with IoT tasks.
Of the 85% currently working on IoT, 47% have been
doing so for more than a year, with another 22%
involved with their IoT projects for at least six months.
Job Level
Which of the following best reflects your job level?
Owner
11%
Director 15%
9%
President/C-level
8%
Senior VP/VP
Base: 622 respondents
Viewed on an industry basis, the numbers of
respondents currently involved with IoT work ranged
from 63% (media/public relations companies) to
96% (automotive). Conversely, 37% of media and
PR respondents qualified for the survey through
their past involvement with IoT, whereas only 4% of
automotive company respondents qualified through
past involvement. IoT activity is high for a number of
industries, with all of these logging at least 90% of
respondents who said they are presently engaged
with IoT assignments:
Networking/telecom 96%
Construction/building technologies 94%
Individual
contributor/staff
26%
31%
Manager/supervisor
Aviation/aerospace 93%
Government/smart cities 92%
Transportation/logistics/warehousing 91%
Manufacturing (discrete) 91%
The spectrum of industries and high involvements
demonstrate the pervasiveness of IoT in today’s
technology arenas.
Of course, most high-tech workers don’t spend
all of their time laboring in a single technical field.
Among our survey respondents, 19% were fully
engaged, spending 100% of their working hours on
IoT projects. Another 38% dedicated at least half
their workdays to IoT while 39% reported spending

IoT Salary Survey Report January 2020 5

 IoT World
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FIGURE 3
about one-quarter of their time on IoT activities.
As would be expected, our survey takers work at Job Role
a variety of levels within their companies. Thirty-five Which of the following best matches your current role/job function?
percent of respondents are top-level managers, CEO/president/founder/owner
15%
from owners on down to presidents and C-levels; Sales/marketing
39% are mid- to upper-level managers; and the 11%
remainder are toiling away in the frontlines. IT
11%
Job levels don’t necessarily reveal what an Project manager
individual is actually doing, so we asked our 6%
respondents to go a step further and provide Business/finance management, analysis or strategy
6%
additional insight into their roles. CIO/CISO/CTO/chief data officer/chief digital officer/chief innovation officer
Given the job levels they reported, it came as no 6%
surprise that 15% of respondents indicated, in the Consulting
6%
job function question, that they are busy running Engineering, electrical
their companies as owners, CEOs or presidents (we 5%
included owner, president and C-level as options Software development/programming
5%
in both the job level and job function question, and Engineering, design
there is a minor difference reported by those groups 4%
between the two questions; in the job level question, Operations/facility/plant management
4%
20% indicated they were at the owner, president Product manager
or C-level stage). As in most companies, sales and 3%
marketing is also well represented at 11%; the key Operational technology
3%
function of IT also registered at 11%, which might Engineering, industrial or manufacturing
seem a bit low given its importance not only to 3%
IoT but also the day-to-day operations of most Engineering, mechanical
2%
companies. Beyond those disciplines, roles are Security/cybersecurity
fairly well distributed among middle management, 2%
engineering, software development and a number Supply chain management
2%
of other specialties. Data science/data analysis
Once again reflecting the dual forces of “newness” 1%
and “experience,” the amount of experience among Dedicated IoT
1%
our survey respondents effectively covers both ends COO
1%
Base: 623 respondents

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 IoT World
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Eighty-six percent of respondents
involved in software development or
programming have been with their
companies for less than 10 years.
That kind of volatility suggests that
FIGURE 4
of the longevity spectrum.
Twenty-seven percent of respondents have Years Employed in Current Industry
been laboring in their current industries for less For how many years have you been employed in your current industry?
than 10 years — that’s just five points more Less than 3 years
than the grizzled veterans who reported that
7%
they’ve been in the same industry for more
3 to 4
than 30 years. On average, our survey takers
5%
have been employed in their current verticals
5 to 9
for 18 years, which suggests that IoT efforts
15%
across all industries are reaping the benefits of
10 to 14
an experienced workforce.
12%
Our respondents’ longevity with their current
organizations paints a somewhat different picture, 15 to 19
which may suggest that there’s still considerable 11%

volatility and movement related to IoT professions. 20 to 24

there's a great deal of opportunity
While they may be sticking with a familiar industry
to move up or out.
vertical, our survey participants appear to have
changed jobs with some frequency. More than
half — a whopping 54% — have been with their
current organizations less than 10 years. That
certainly indicates a fair amount of transition
among the IoT work corps, but it is balanced out
to an extent by the number of respondents who
are on track to cop a gold watch with decades
of service to a single employer: 21% have hung
their hats in the same office for 20 or more years.
From a job function or role perspective, we found
that 86% of respondents involved in software
development or programming have been with their
companies less than 10 years. That kind of volatility
suggests that there’s a great deal of opportunity to
25 to 29
12%
30 or more years
Base: 601 respondents
move up or out as the IoT industry focuses more
on software as hardware infrastructures tend to
have been built out at this point.
Slicing and dicing that data a bit more, we
can see a likely infusion of new blood into the
IoT ranks in several industry verticals. For energy
products or services and utilities, 19% of their
workers have been with them for less than three
years. But agriculture (33%), construction and
16%
22%
building technologies (23%) and IT (20%) all have
a significant number of newbies on their payrolls.
More schooling doesn’t always lead to higher
salaries, but for our survey participants it might
figure into their generally solid compensation we’ve
seen across all company sizes and industries.
Forty-two percent of our respondents reported
that they held advanced degrees — 7% with
doctorates and 35% holding master's degrees.

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 IoT World
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Those are impressive numbers for any technical FIGURE 5

discipline — higher than the typical workforce
profiles for other technology sectors. Another 38%
have completed at least four-year college programs,
rounding out a very well-educated IoT workforce.
On an industry basis, 59% of those from
education said they hold advanced degrees. IoT
workers in healthcare/pharma/medical devices
(54%) and IT (50%) were also among the most
well-educated, with 54% having a master’s or
doctorate degree. Networking/telecom (47%) and
processing manufacturing (45%) rounded out the
top five.
Age is also a factor related to the highest level of
education achieved for our survey respondents. Our
college-degree class is dominated by those age 45
or older; of those with a college degree, 60% are
45 or older. And of those with advanced degrees,
72% are 45 or older.
Diverse Companies With IoT
Undertakings
While we had more than 20 industry verticals
represent in the survey, several stood out with
higher participation rates that clearly emphasized
some of the more active components in the current
IoT landscape.
Information technology companies led our
list, with 22% of our survey takers indicating
they worked for IT outfits. That was the only
Highest Level of Education Completed
What is the highest level of education you have completed?
No degree/diploma
High school degree or equivalent
Some college 14%
(including Associates degree)
38%
College graduate
(4-year degree)
Base: 621 respondents
double-digit representation; there was a fairly
even distribution of respondents across a number
of sectors registering 6% or higher, led by
manufacturing (discrete) at 9% and networking/
telecom at 8%.
The majority (59%) of our reporting companies are
headquartered in the United States, but international
firms were well-represented. Twelve percent of
respondents reported that their companies are
in Western Europe; another 10% are in the Asia
Pacific zone.
1% Doctorate (Ph.D., J.D. or equivalent)
5% 7%
Post-graduate degree
35% (master’s degree)
Company sizes — as measured by the total
number of employees at each organization — also
varied considerably, although larger companies
accounted for the highest representation. Thirty-five
percent of respondents’ companies currently have
fewer than 100 employees; 25% have 100 to 1,000
people on staff; and 40% tip the scales on the high
end with more than 1,000 employees.
There were some very large companies in that
40% chunk, with 17% having more than 25,000
employees. Eight percent are in the “huge” category,

IoT Salary Survey Report January 2020 8

 IoT World
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with an employee headcount topping 100,000.
Looking at company size by industry, the
largest representations among companies with
fewer than 100 employees include construction/
building technologies (49%); agriculture (46%);
and a couple at 43%: energy/utilities and retail.
On the flip side, among the 40% of
industries with more than 1,000 employees are
these verticals:
The survey definitely represents both
ends of the supply chain with a good
Government/smart cities 65%
sample of both producers/suppliers Healthcare/pharma/medical devices 56%
and users/buyers. Manufacturing 54%
Aviation/aerospace 53%
Networking/telecom 53%
Fifty-six percent of our survey’s organizations
make or sell IoT products or services to other
organizations. By number of employees, those
provider companies represent the gamut
from small to large: 65% of small (under 100
employees) companies say they make/sell IoT
products or services; for both midsize companies
(100 to 1,000 employees) and large companies
(more than 1,000) the percentage dips a bit to
52%. So the survey definitely represents both
ends of the supply chain with a good sample
of both producers/suppliers and users/buyers.
The supplier side of the equation is further
buttressed by the 29% of all respondents who
say they consider their organizations channel
IoT Salary Survey Report
FIGURE 6
Geographic Locations of Companies
Where is your organization headquartered?
Middle East
Eastern Europe
Mexico
1%
South America 2%
3%2%
Canada 3%
Africa 4%
4%
Other
10%
Asia Pacific
59%
United States
12%
Western Europe
Base: 621 respondents
companies. Those channel outfits provide a wide employees) boasted the biggest share of digital
variety of products and services, topped by 30% transformers with 86% of that category on board
who claim to be jacks-of-all-trades and 21% who with digital transformation projects. But midsize
identify as systems integrators. (66%) and smaller companies (62%) are also active
Involvement with IoT is a clear signal that these with digital transformation.
companies are operating at the leading edge Other hot tech topics that have become pervasive
of technology. But most of the organizations across all industry verticals include artificial
represented in the survey are far from one- intelligence, machine learning and data science
trick ponies. Seventy-three percent noted that — and our survey companies are also active in
their companies are currently involved in digital these areas. Larger companies show the highest
transformation projects. Large organizations (>1,000 degree of involvement in these disciplines as well, at
January 2020 9
 IoT World
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72%. Again, midsize companies (56%) and smaller FIGURE 7

ones (50%) prove that these new techs are not the
exclusive domain of big organizations. Salary by Job Role
What is your 2019 gross annual salary, NOT including bonuses, in US dollars?
From All Perspectives, Salaries CIO/CISO/CTO/chief data officer/chief digital officer/chief innovation officer
Look Good $141,844
CEO/president/founder/owner
As noted earlier, IoT workers are well remunerated
$132,843
for their efforts, with salaries averaging $112,208 in Consulting
2019. Average salaries are sometimes deceiving, $118,867
with a handful of very highly paid individuals tilting Operations/facility/plant management
the scales enough to obscure the fact that not all $115,059
Sales/marketing
respondents are well paid. But for the IoT workforce $112,830
who participated in our survey, the good news is All IT titles
that the majority of salaries reported were in line $112,304
Software development/programming
with the overall average, so all job levels involved
$111,304
to some degree in IoT endeavors appear to be Business/finance management, analysis or strategy
well paid. $110,991
What a person actually does — which may or Engineering, design
may not be obvious by their title — of course has $109,750
Project manager
a bearing on how big a paycheck they take home $109,020
each week. Breaking down salaries by specific job IT
function is a bit more revealing, and the good news $108,865
is that the generally high pay is also reflected across Product manager
$97,688
a number of specific work activities. All engineering titles
Company size is also a factor in the rates at which $95,111
IoT employees are compensated. As might be Engineering, electrical
$92,719
expected, respondents working at large companies
(those with more than 1,000 employees) reported Base: 500 respondents; Note: “all IT titles” includes IT, software development/programming and security/cybersecurity professionals; “all engineering titles” includes
automotive, electrical, design industrial/manufacturing, mechanical and civil engineers. Some segments of both clusters also appear in the chart individually.
an average 2019 salary of $117,903. But workers
at midsize and small companies are also well

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compensated, with averages of $107,302 and
$108,951, respectively.
Once again we saw a degree of consistency
in average salaries when we looked across
geographies. U.S. workers led the way with an
average salary of $123,532, but IoT workers in Africa
and Europe also enjoy high salaries at $109,002 and
$100,211, respectively.
The high average salaries were apparently
boosted in 2019 by raises. Overall, 66% of
respondents said they got a raise — ranging from
40% who received a modest (1% to 4%) hike to
8% who enjoyed 10% or more pay increases.
Happily, only 9% of all respondents said their
salaries were cut in the past year. In the majority of
cases (60%), those cuts were related to budgetary
cuts due to economic conditions.
Company size also figured into salary changes
from 2018 to 2019. Decreases were more
prominent among smaller companies (of those
at small companies, 15% reported a decrease),
as were unchanged (no decrease or increase)
salaries (36%). Workers at larger companies
fared better with significantly more raises and
fewer cuts.
Attaining a six-figure salary is a significant
milepost in most professions. Among our
reporting IoT specialists, 52% of them have
achieved membership in the six-figure club.
Larger companies have the highest percentage
IoT Salary Survey Report
FIGURE 8
Average Salary by Company Size
Big (>1,000 employees)
Midsize (100 to 999 employees)
Small (<100 employees)
Base: 500 respondents
of these high earners at 58%, but midsize
(46%) and small companies (48%) also have
significant representation.
Given the high percentage of advanced degrees
among our respondents, it would seem logical
that salaries track higher for those-post grads
than for others.
Generally, having completed a higher level
of education is reflected by a higher salary, but
it’s not a hard-and-fast rule. We found some
interesting anomalies, such as the 14% of
respondents who had no college experience but
were nonetheless pulling down salaries in the
$100,000 to $109,000 range.
Bonuses Are Icing on the Salary Cake
Salaries are often sweetened with end-of-the-
$117,903
$107,302
$108,951
year bonuses, and more than half (52%) of IoT
workers said they received those windfalls. The
average bonus was a very generous $15,179.
Taken as a percentage of the overall average
salary, the average bonus was 14% of annual
salary — perhaps low by Wall Street standards,
but generous, indeed, for the tech workers.
Again, employees at larger companies were more
apt to benefit from this corporate largesse, as 63%
said they received bonuses. Fifty-one percent of
workers at midsize companies got bonuses last
year; 40% of smaller companies rewarded their
employees with bonuses.
Bonus amounts also skewed toward the bigger
organizations, although the differences were not
particularly dramatic.
January 2020 11

Topping the list with a nearly
$26,000 average bonus was
finance/banking, an industry known
for its end-of-the-year perks.
IoT Salary Survey Report
IoT World
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FIGURE 9
Bonuses also varied — this time more significantly Average Amount of Last Year’s Bonus, by Industry
— by industry. Topping the list with a nearly
Finance/banking
$26,000 average bonus was finance/banking, $25,667
an industry known for its end-of-the-year perks. Energy/utilities
$25,000
Energy/utilities and manufacturing were nearly as
Manufacturing (process)
lavish, bestowing average bonuses of $25,000 and $23,268
$23,268, respectively. Aviation/aerospace
$19,100
Information technology
Looking Ahead to 2020
$16,744
The majority of our respondents are looking Transportation/logistics/warehousing
forward to 2020 with optimism. $15,683
Sixty percent of all respondents expect a Healthcare/pharma/medical device
$15,358
raise next year. The company size patterns hold
Overall
again, with more large-company employees $15,179
(71%) anticipating salary increases, compared Networking/telecom
$14,167
with 49% in small companies and 58% of
Automotive
midsize-company employees. $13,500
Nearly half (45%) of respondents are anticipating Manufacturing (discrete)
$11,185
bonuses, skewing upward from 36% to 51% from
Agriculture
small to large companies. $10,714
Stock options, once a de facto part of tech Retail
$8,700
compensation, are somewhat rarer these days,
Government/smart cities
with only 16% of respondents expecting company $8,671
shares complementing their pay next year, with Construction/building technology
similar responses across all company sizes. $8,453
Education
$1,906
Base: 270 respondents
January 2020 12
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APPENDIX
FIGURE 10

Years Employed by Current Organization

For how many years have you been employed in your organization?
Less than 3 years
16%
3 to 4
14%
5 to 9
24%
10 to 14
15%
15 to 19
10%
20 to 24
9%
25 to 29
5%
30 or more years
7%

Base: 595 respondents

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FIGURE 11

Industry Verticals
Which of the following best reflects your organization’s primary business/industry?
Information technology
22%
Manufacturing (discrete)
9%
Networking/telecommunications
8%
Other
6%
Healthcare/pharmaceutical/medical device
6%
Education
6%
Government/smart cities
6%
Construction/building technology
6%
Energy/utilities
5%
Manufacturing (process)
4%
Automotive
4%
Finance/banking
3%
Aviation/aerospace
2%
Retail
2%
Agriculture
2%
Transportation/logistics/warehousing
2%
Non-profit
1%
Restaurant/hospitality
1%
Media/PR
1%
Mining/oil/gas/chemicals
1%
Real estate/legal/insurance
1%
Base: 623 respondents
IoT Salary Survey Report January 2020 14
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FIGURE 12

Company Size by Number of Employees

How many people are employed by your organization (at all locations)?

100,000 or more
8%
50,000 to 99,000 6% Fewer than 50
3% 27%
25,000 to 49,999

10,000 to 24,999 6%

5,000 to 9,999 6%
50 to 99
8%
11%
1,000 to 4,999 11%
5% 100 to 249
9%
500 to 999
250 to 499
Base: 622 respondents

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FIGURE 13

Salary Changes by Company Size Decreased

No change
Overall average Increased
9%
25%
66%
Small (<100 employees)
15%
36%
49%
Midsize (100 to 999 employees)
8%
22%
70%
Big (>1,000 employees)
5%
17%
78%

Base: 609 respondents

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 IoT World
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FIGURE 14

Bonus by Company Size (Received Bonus Last Year) Yes

No
All sizes of companies
9% 52%
48%

Small (<100 employees)

15% 40%
60%

Midsize (100 to 999 employees)

51%
49%

Big (>1,000 employees)

5% 63%
17% 37%
Base: 609 respondents

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FIGURE 15

Average Amount of Bonus by Company Size (Received

Bonus Last Year)
All sizes of companies

$15,179

Small (<100 employees)

$13,059

Midsize (100 to 999 employees)

$13,956

Big (>1,000 employees)

$17,066

Base: 270 respondents

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FIGURE 16

Salary, Bonus and Stock Options Expectations for 2020

Raise
All sizes of companies
Bonus
60%
45% Stock options
16%
Small (<100 employees)
49%
36%
16%
Midsize (100 to 999 employees)
58%
47%
14%
Big (>1,000 employees)
71%
51%
18%

Base: 611 respondents

IoT Salary Survey Report January 2020 19