“Very Low and Incorrect”: Man Shares Top Highest-Paying IT Jobs in South Africa

• An IT content creator shared a video listing the highest-paying tech jobs in South Africa, claiming CTOs earn up to R1.8 million annually
• The video sparked a debate when professionals in the field said the salary figures were too low and outdated
• According to experts at Nucamp, the figures for IT staff earn way higher than what the gentleman suggested

A man who shares IT career content on TikTok posted a video that got people in the tech industry talking. The young man broke down what he called the highest-paying IT jobs in South Africa on 25 January 2026.

He started with Chief Technology Officers, saying they can earn between R1.4 million and R1.8 million per annum. He moved down the list covering Chief Information Officers, Cyber Security Specialists earning R1.6 million yearly, Cloud Solutions Architects, AI Machine Learning Engineers at R1.4 million per year, Data Scientists at R1.3 million annually, and DevOps Engineers.

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The problem is that people working in these exact roles jumped into the comments, saying his numbers were way off. According to experts at Nucamp, the real figures tell a different story. Full-stack developers earn between R60,000 and R105,000 monthly. Cloud Solutions Architects can pull in up to R125,000 per month. Data Scientists make between R364,803 for entry-level positions and over R900,000 with experience. Cybersecurity Analysts earn R50,000 to R95,000 monthly.

The IT services sector in South Africa is projected to hit US$7.84 billion (R124.31 billion according to Wise currency converter) by 2029, growing at nearly 5% annually. The demand for tech professionals in the country keeps climbing. This is especially in fields like blockchain, AI engineering, cloud computing and cybersecurity.

Watch the TikTok clip below:

SA IT professionals challenge salary claims

Social media users who work in tech had strong reactions to TikToker @school_of_it's clip:

@lucrativedesignszA said:

"This is very low and incorrect, lol."

@lelo questioned:

"So I'm wasting my time with Business Analysis? 😔😔"

@mzansihomegrower corrected:

"Cloud Solutions Architects get much more than that - I know because I am one. That number is valid for 5 years. Unless it excludes benefits?"

@whizz explained:

"These salaries quoted are too low. I'm in recruitment, and the candidates are offered way more. As an example, CTO definitely earns more than R2m a year."

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@treasure_mngadi revealed:

"Those C-suite salaries are very low, bro. The CISO at a media company I worked at earned 4 Mill per annum before any bonuses, lol."

@bedview_pierro compared:

"R1.8M = 110,000 USD, meaning 9,000 USD. I would say it is a bit low compared to CTO in other countries."

@burgerrupert vented:

"Funny enough, I can't even get an entry-level job and work for free, lol."

More stories on SA salaries

• Briefly News recently reported on South Africans debating what salary is needed to live decently after new living wage data was shared.
• Income envy hit South Africans after Ekurhuleni's legal head revealed he earns over R2 million annually.
• A Mzansi teacher was stunned by the salary gap between substitute and permanent teaching posts, sparking debate among educators.

Proofreading by Kelly Lippke, copy editor at Briefly.co.za.

Source: Briefly News