Management · Holland code CEI

Computer and Information Systems Managers

Plan, direct, or coordinate activities in such fields as electronic data processing, information systems, systems analysis, and computer programming.

Also called: Information Systems Director (IS Director), Information Systems Manager (IS Manager), Information Technology Director (IT Director), Information Technology Manager (IT Manager), Application Development Director, Computing Services Director, Data Processing Manager, Information Systems Supervisor (IS Supervisor).

O*NET 11-3021.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $175,140; Middle half earn $138,060 to $220,730. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Bachelor's Degree; 48% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 4 of 5; Considerable preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034: +15% · Much faster than average; 667,100 jobs in 2024, projected 768,700. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Computer and information systems managers".

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Manage backup, security and user help systems.
Direct daily operations of department, analyzing workflow, establishing priorities, developing standards and setting deadlines.
Meet with department heads, managers, supervisors, vendors, and others, to solicit cooperation and resolve problems.
Review project plans to plan and coordinate project activity.
Assign and review the work of systems analysts, programmers, and other computer-related workers.
Provide users with technical support for computer problems.
Develop computer information resources, providing for data security and control, strategic computing, and disaster recovery.
Recruit, hire, train and supervise staff, or participate in staffing decisions.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Critical Thinking4.1 / 5
Reading Comprehension4.0 / 5
Active Listening4.0 / 5
Speaking3.9 / 5
Monitoring3.9 / 5
Writing3.8 / 5

Knowledge areas

Computers and Electronics4.8 / 5
Customer and Personal Service4.0 / 5
Administration and Management3.7 / 5
Engineering and Technology3.5 / 5
English Language3.5 / 5
Personnel and Human Resources3.4 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic28
Investigative58
Artistic8
Social23
Enterprising68
Conventional82

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

chief information officer · DE IT-Leiter/IT-Leiterin · FR directeur des systèmes d'information /directrice des systèmes d'information
chief technology officer · DE Technischer Leiter/Technische Leiterin · FR responsable de la technologie
ICT operations manager · DE IT-Prozessmanager/IT-Prozessmanagerin · FR responsable des activités informatiques
ICT security manager · DE IT-Sicherheitsmanager/IT-Sicherheitsmanagerin · FR responsable de la sécurité informatique
aviation data communications manager · DE Verwalter von Datenübertragungsnetzen im Luftverkehr/Verwalterin von Datenübertragungsnetzen im Luftverkehr · FR responsable communications de données aéronautiques

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Information technology directors (1137)197,000 employed
Cyber security professionals (2135)91,200 employed
IT managers (2132)276,800 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Managers”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Managers, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€96,629
Italy	€96,052
Germany	€90,192
Austria	€82,936
Netherlands	€69,857
Sweden	€60,369
France	€58,740
Ireland	€55,854
Spain	€54,121
Portugal	€39,189
Poland	€19,596

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the higher third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +1.06. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (11-3021).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test