Today, we launched our fifth annual DevOps Salary report, which is based on the more than 3,000 responses collected through the 2018 State of DevOps survey. The report examines a myriad of factors impacting salary levels including region, role, demographics, industry and the size of the organization.

There’s a ton of really interesting data to peruse, but in keeping with our goal of providing pragmatic and prescriptive guidance in our reports, I want to call out three specific research points. It’s a new year and some of you may be reevaluating your current jobs and possibly looking for a new one. One of the factors in your job search is likely salary. We found that there are three things to look for if you want to earn more: cultural attitudes around DevOps, the size of the organization (as measured by annual revenue) and the type of industry you work in.

Let’s look at each of these further.

Look for companies where senior leadership has demonstrated support for DevOps

This may seem like a no brainer to some folks, but it's always good to see the proof in the data. This year’s salary report showed that the more buy-in you have on DevOps with senior leadership the higher the salaries for both practitioners and managers. At organizations with strong DevOps support, 43 percent of those surveyed reported incomes over $100,000 versus 37 percent where initiatives are supported sometimes, rarely, or never.

So how can you tell if a company has senior leadership that supports DevOps? Typically, when a DevOps initiative is going well, senior leaders want to talk about it publicly. As you’re doing your research, see if anyone on the senior leadership team has spoken at DevOps events or written any blog posts about DevOps. Another good sign is when the folks on the ground are able to share their experiences publicly.

Larger companies pay more competitively

Across most of the globe, if you work for a larger company you get paid better. The data shows that in organizations with over $2B in revenue, the vast majority of respondents (79 percent) make $75,000 or above. Comparatively, less than half (47 percent) of the respondents at organizations with less than $50M in annual revenue make $75,000 or above.

Fast-paced industries pay more

Those who have adopted DevOps practices are in high demand, especially in fast-paced industries where competition from born-in-the-cloud companies is disrupting the status quo. . For example, 47 percent of respondents working in retail make more than $100,000, about 10 percent more than any other vertical including healthcare, financial services, and technology. If you reside in the US, it’s worth noting that technology pays better than it does elsewhere with 37 percent of respondents reporting a salary of at least $125,000 compared to 28 percent globally.

In summary, if you’re following the money, then you should be looking for three things: support for DevOps from senior leadership, a larger company, and a fast-paced industry. For more granular salary data, check out our latest DevOps Salary Report.

Alanna Brown is the director of product marketing at Puppet.