Jobs in executive leadership are an excellent method for highly skilled IT managers and computer systems engineers to optimize their income potential and get into a genuinely successful role that encompasses all aspects of a company’s technology.
The Chief Technology Officer, or CTO, is a position that allows professionals to implement security policies, make critical decisions about cloud storage and big data, and make other significant changes to how a company interacts with the online world, as well as create a more efficient usage scenario for emerging high-tech tools.
Of course, the work isn’t without its challenges: Many CTOs work long hours, shoulder a disproportionate amount of responsibility, and step in when new recruits lack the appropriate skills or training to install new systems.
However, all these things definitely pay off because CTOs earn a good amount of money.
And according to Indeed, based on 184 ratings, 70% of CTOs think that their salary is enough to support the cost of living in their area.
So you might wonder how much do CTOs make after this sentence, and that is what we will answer here.
Summary
| Guide | How Much Do CTOs Make? |
|---|---|
| Average Income | $130,000 per year |
| Highest Income | $600,000 per year |
| Qualification | Needed |
| Training | Not available |
Who Are CTOs?
The Chief Technology Officer (CTO) is the person in charge of overseeing existing technology and developing appropriate policies for a business.
A CTO should have the proper business understanding to connect technological decisions with the organization’s objectives.
A CTO is responsible for creating, implementing, managing, and assessing the company’s technology resources and resolving IT-related difficulties.
So a company’s technology or engineering department’s head is a chief technology officer, who is the highest-ranking technology executive.
They create rules and processes and utilize technology to improve external-facing goods and services.
The CTO also designs revenue-generating initiatives and conducts cost-benefit and return-on-investment analyses.
How Much Do CTOs Make?
Even though executive jobs are the top in a company, they are subject to the same concerns as any other position.
As a result, new CTOs typically earn less than their more experienced counterparts, even though you can expect to get a raise when the job is in good hands, and there are not many problems.
The national median income for CTOs is significantly greater than the $130,000 beginning salary for newly promoted executive officers.
According to Salary.com, the typical annual salary for a CTO is over $200,000, with the average CTO earning just over $194,000 per year.
Those who stay in this position for a longer period of time or who are more experienced at the time of their promotion earn significantly more.
1. How Much Do CTOs Make in an Hour?
CTOs make a minimum of $24.04 an hour and a maximum of $137.74 an hour.
2. How Much Do CTOs Make in an Month?
CTOs make a minimum of $4,167 an month and a maximum of $23,875 a month.
3. How Much Do CTOs Make in an Year?
CTOs make a minimum of $50,000 an year and a maximum of $286,500 a year.
Highest Salary Of CTOs In 2023
Salaries of CTOs vary a lot depending on the company, industry, location, experience, and also many other things that the leadership role might include or might not include.
A CTO in Silicon Valley does not earn the same amount of money as a CTO who is working in a small start-up in a small state around the United States.
Top %10 of CTOs who are generally working in big corporations could earn close to $1 million, but on average, the highest salary is around $600,000 annually.
Those who earn more than $1 million are generally in a big technology corporation like Facebook, Twitter, or Snapchat.
Is Being A CTO Good Or Bad?
Being a CTO is a tough thing; you can not just start working as a CTO right out of university; you need years of experience in the IT field and have the necessary skills to lead people along with your technical skills.
Both of these technical and soft skills must be as good as it gets to give the best effort you can.
That is why being a CTO is tough and requires immense experience.
If you think you can handle these and work in IT for years to become a CTO and be a leader, being a CTO is an extremely good career path, especially since the salary side is exponentially rewarding if you are working in a big corporation.
Pros and Cons of Being A CTO
Pros
- You gain conflict-prevention skills
- Great money
- Job satisfaction
- Leadership potential
Cons
- Risk of meltdown
- Poor work-life balance
How To Become A CTO?
Here’s how you can become a CTO:
- Like other IT careers, the road to CTO begins with a bachelor’s degree in a computer or information science-related subject (computer programming, software development, management information systems, applied mathematics, cybersecurity).
- Many companies also prefer CTOs with MA degrees in computer science, information technology, or technology management. Given that CTOs frequently focus on customer goods and customer interactions, sales and marketing courses are frequently beneficial. So we recommend you get an MA degree.
- Then you should get an IT Job role because the practical experience gained on the job is crucial. Most CTOs have risen through the ranks of IT at various companies.
How Many Hours Does CTO Work?
Being a CTO is not an easy job. They are required to be immensely disciplined and dedicated to the job.
CTO works for long hours; they do not have a fixed time and are even available on the phone most times. On average, CTOs work for more than 40 hours.
What is the Starting Pay of CTO?
The starting pay of a CTO is $24.04 an hour and $4,167 a month.
As you gain more experience as a CTO, your salary increases drastically. You can end up making up to $600,000 annually.
CTO Training Programs
CTOs doesn’t have training programs because the job itself goes through holding IT jobs at several levels within a company.
You learn to be a CTO during those years; that is why there are no separate training programs to become a CTO.
You might get a short training about how things work at the managerial level, but no technical training programs exist.
CTO Vs. CEO Vs. COO
Conclusion
As you can see, being a CTO takes an enormous amount of time and a combination of both technological and soft skills because being a CTO leads the technology part of the company.
You also need to lead the people within the technology department as you become a leader. However, even though it is a hard job, the pay is definitely rewarding.
FAQ
How much do CTOs make in their first year as CTO?
When you just become a CTO, and it is your first year, you will probably earn either the average salary or something lower than this until you have good leadership skills.
How much do CTOs make after years of experience working as CTO?
If you have been working as a CTO for years decades, you can expect to be in the top 10% of CTOs and earn close to $1 million if it is a big company you are working at.
How much do CTOs make in small companies?
If you are working at a small company, a small start-up, you should expect lower payouts, lower than the average most of the time.
Shefali Jain is a Content Writer & Editor at USWorkforce.org
After completing her graduation in hospitality, Shefali decided to follow her passion and started writing. Shefali has been writing for two years now and contributes to our website as a skilled editor and content writer with strong research skills. Writing product and service reviews, biographies, and book reviews are some of her key areas, among many others in which she specializes. In her time at the organization, she has written and edited content on a range of topics, including employment law, human resources, and business management.
ARTICLE SOURCES
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- https://www.indeed.com/career/chief-technology-officer/salaries#:~:text=Average%20base%20salary&text=Estimated%20take%2Dhome%20pay%3A%20%24155%2C701[↩]
- https://www.codemotion.com/magazine/dev-life/cto/cto-pros-cons/[↩]
- https://emeritus.org/blog/leadership-how-to-become-a-cto/#:~:text=A%20Bachelor’s%20degree%20in%20information,MBA%20or%20a%20Master’s%20degree.[↩]