The picture of managerial salaries is more complex than for CIOs, involving seven significant predictors. The three strongest predictors of IT managers' salaries are institution type, the sector of one's position, and years of experience in higher education prior to joining one's current institution. Institution type is consistently a strong predictor across organizational levels (figure 41), with those at more complex institutions expected to earn a higher salary, on average. Managers at AA, BA, and MA institutions tend to earn similar amounts, while managers at private doctorals are the clear standouts, earning $28,907 more than their AA/BA/MA counterparts. Managers at public doctorals earn, on average, $11,895 more than those at AA/BA/MA institutions.

It should come as no surprise that a manager on the executive leadership team is expected to earn more than average. We grouped IT positions into 11 sectors plus an "other" category.2 Our model places managerial salaries into 3 groups comprising these 12 categories. Managers from academic computing/instructional technology; design, media, and web; desktop services or client support; IT operations and service delivery; and other circumstances earn salaries at a similar level, depending on institution type. Managers from administrative/enterprise IT; applications development or operations; data, analytics, and business intelligence; and networks and systems are expected to earn an additional $18,423 over those in the first group. And managers from IT executive leadership; information security and services; and research computing/cyberinfrastructure earn, on average, an additional $17,266 above that (or $35,690 more than those in the lowest-sector group).

Each year of prior experience at another institution is associated with an expected increase in salary of $799. The additional factors found to associate with managerial salaries are generation, education level, number of direct reports, and years of experience at one's current institution in a different position. Figure 5 shows the relative effects of these and other factors on managers' salaries. Each year of experience at one's current institution prior to obtaining the current managerial position is associated with an expected increase in salary of $456. The typical (median) manager in our sample has eight years of experience at the current institution prior to obtaining the current position, which would translate to an additional $3,651 of salary. Even after controlling for years of experience, we find that members of the older generations earn more: compared with Millennials, Gen Xers earn an average of $10,068 more, and Boomers earn an average of $15,198 more. These discrepancies might be explained by the additional wisdom and experience that comes with age. Or perhaps these older employees are being rewarded for professional experience they have gained outside higher education IT.

The plurality (49%) of IT managers in our sample have a master's degree as their highest level of education completed. They earn, on average, $6,550 more than those with no four-year degree, and $4,019 more than those whose highest degree is a bachelor's. A doctoral or other terminal degree can be expected to earn a manager an additional $10,006 above those with a master's. Last but not least, each additional direct report is associated with an expected increase in salary of $882. Figure 4 contains estimated average salaries for IT managers. As with the CIO model, only about a third (38%) of the observed variability in managerial salaries is explained by these predictors.

So, based on what we see in our data, what advice can we offer IT managers who would like to improve their earning power? The answer is that it depends on how fast one wants to realize the increase in salary, the amount of effort one wants to put into leveling up their skills and knowledge, and their personal comfort with disrupting their lives. The most expedient approach to securing a higher base salary would be to move to a doctoral institution (assuming that one is not already working at one). However, opportunities to do so might be limited by a host of factors, including geographic proximity to a DR institution, available positions in one's field, and (if a move is required) the willingness to uproot and disrupt one's life.

Another possibility might be to consider retraining or developing a skill set in one of the higher-paying higher education IT sectors and make a lateral move. We know that higher education IT employees tend to stay in the same fields, having specialized and cultivated knowledge, skills, and reputations in those spaces. While breaking out of these molds may be difficult and potentially time-consuming, taking advantage of naturally occurring partnerships and interactions that are part of the daily workflow to learn about other sectors and to develop a plan with a mentor to pursue such lines may not just increase salary but may also make one a more likely candidate for securing a CIO position down the road.3

Finally, a longer-term option may be to earn another, higher degree. With some institutions offering tuition remission or tuition discounts, earning a master's, doctoral, or other terminal degree in a field related to one's current or aspirational position may take a while longer than the aforementioned options, but education is always a wise investment in oneself.