The Secret Tech Roles Nobody Talks About (But Pay Really Well)

Most career guides recycle the same few job titles. That makes those roles ultra-competitive and noisy. The roles below are often overlooked in universities and bootcamps, but they are mission-critical for organizations and frequently pay very well. These careers reward domain expertise, communication, systems thinking, or security intuition — skills many developers already have but don’t market well.

1. Developer Advocate / Developer Relations

What they do: Build SDKs and demos, write blogs and docs, run workshops, and act as the voice of developers inside product teams.

Why it’s valuable: Developer adoption directly impacts revenue for platform companies. Skilled advocates shorten time-to-success for customers.

Fit: Engineers who enjoy teaching, public speaking, and community-building.

Salary: $80k–$200k depending on seniority and region.

2. Technical Program Manager (TPM)

What they do: Own complex technical initiatives end-to-end — translate product goals into technical milestones, coordinate large cross-functional teams, and remove delivery blockers.

Why it’s valuable: At scale, delivery risk is the biggest business risk. TPMs reduce that risk.

Fit: Engineers who love systems thinking, scheduling, and stakeholder communication more than hands-on coding.

Salary: $100k–$230k depending on company size and region.

3. Solutions Architect

What they do: Design large-scale systems, choose technologies, and create integration plans rather than coding day-to-day features.

Why it’s valuable: They align business needs with technical realities and prevent costly design mistakes.

Fit: Engineers who prefer problem-solving at a high level and seeing the “big picture.”

Salary: $110k–$250k depending on industry and seniority.

4. Security Engineer (Red Team / Blue Team)

What they do: Red teams simulate real attackers; blue teams defend and harden systems. Both roles are essential.

Why it’s valuable: Security breaches can cost millions. Skilled security engineers save companies from disaster.

Fit: Problem-solvers who love puzzles, hacking challenges, and thinking like attackers.

Salary: $90k–$220k depending on specialization.

5. Technical Writer

What they do: Create developer documentation, tutorials, and product guides that make complex software usable.

Why it’s valuable: Products with poor docs fail adoption. Writers ensure customer success.

Fit: Developers who are strong at explaining concepts clearly and logically.

Salary: $70k–$150k depending on expertise and company.

Why These Roles Matter

The tech world is bigger than just “developer” or “data scientist.” These hidden careers:

• Pay competitively, often matching or exceeding coding roles
• Face less competition because most job seekers overlook them
• Leverage transferable skills you may already have

Exploring these paths can open doors to impactful, future-proof careers you won’t hear about in most tech career guides.