Montana·Management Occupations·SOC 11-3021

Best Computer programs in Montana, ranked by enrollment

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

13 schools in Montana run programs that feed this job, graduating 373 people a year. The job pays a median of $132,860 in Montana across about 1,180 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledInformation Systems Manager (IS Manager)Information Systems Director (IS Director)Information Technology Manager (IT Manager)Information Technology Director (IT Director)Network ManagerNetwork DirectorKnowledge ManagerTechnical Director
Graduates / yr
373
in Montana
Median pay · Montana
$132,860
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
1,180
people employed
Schools
13
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
40%
across those schools
Median net price
$21,440
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Montana that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

11 programs in Montana that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Montana (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Montana page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 11.0701In Montana
164
44.0%
5$70,374$23,250
2
CIP 11.1003In Montana
98
26.3%
4$48,185$25,250
3
CIP 52.1299In Montana
29
7.8%
1$59,352$24,618
4
CIP 11.0401In Montana
20
5.4%
1$57,313$25,833
5
CIP 52.1206In Montana
19
5.1%
1$59,352$24,618
6
CIP 52.1201In Montana
13
3.5%
3$59,352$24,618
7
CIP 11.0103In Montana
11
2.9%
3$57,986$24,286
8
CIP 11.0101In Montana
10
2.7%
3$57,986$24,286
9
CIP 11.0901In Montana
7
1.9%
2$43,901$22,822
10
CIP 30.0801In Montana
1
0.3%
1$89,651$23,175
11
CIP 30.7001In Montana
1
0.3%
1

Top 13 schools in Montana

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 2 of the 13 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Montana State University
Bozeman, MT Public · 3 feeder programs
133Computer Science$66,91857%82%
2The University of Montana
Missoula, MT Public · 6 feeder programs
132Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance48%96%
3Montana Technological University
Butte, MT Public · 4 feeder programs
69Management Information Systems and Services, Other$42,54358%91%
4Flathead Valley Community College
Kalispell, MT Public · 2 feeder programs
7Information Technology29%
5Aaniiih Nakoda College
Harlem, MT Public · 1 feeder programs
6Computer and Information Sciences, General34%
6Highlands College of Montana Tech
Butte, MT Public · 1 feeder programs
6Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance45%
7Montana State University Billings
Billings, MT Public · 1 feeder programs
6Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications30%
8Carroll College
Helena, MT Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
4Computer Science69%$21,44071%
9Stone Child College
Box Elder, MT Public · 2 feeder programs
3Computer and Information Sciences, General34%
10Little Big Horn College
Crow Agency, MT Public · 1 feeder programs
2Information Technology11%
11Rocky Mountain College
Billings, MT Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
2Computer Science48%$17,36970%
12Salish Kootenai College
Pablo, MT Public · 1 feeder programs
2Computer and Information Sciences, General28%
13Great Falls College Montana State University
Great Falls, MT Public · 1 feeder programs
1Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications34%

All 13 schools in Montana

Every school in Montana with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.

All schools in Montana that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Montana State UniversityBozemanPublic1333
The University of MontanaMissoulaPublic1326
Montana Technological UniversityButtePublic694
Flathead Valley Community CollegeKalispellPublic72
Aaniiih Nakoda CollegeHarlemPublic61
Highlands College of Montana TechButtePublic61
Montana State University BillingsBillingsPublic61
Carroll CollegeHelenaPrivate not-for-profit41
Stone Child CollegeBox ElderPublic32
Little Big Horn CollegeCrow AgencyPublic21
Rocky Mountain CollegeBillingsPrivate not-for-profit21
Salish Kootenai CollegePabloPublic21
Great Falls College Montana State UniversityGreat FallsPublic11

What computer and information systems managers earn in Montana

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in Montana
$132,860
Mean annual
$146,100
Jobs in state
1,180
What the range looks like
10th pct$92,820Median$132,86090th pct$215,800
Versus the national median
-24.1%

U.S. median $175,140. Montana pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
0.53×

1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.

Metro areas in Montana

Bozeman, MT
$162,680median
200 jobs
Great Falls, MT
$133,670median
70 jobs
Billings, MT
$129,280median
210 jobs
Missoula, MT
$133,020median
160 jobs
Helena, MT
$130,230median
140 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+15.2%
Much faster than average
Openings per year
55,600
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
101,600
667,100 → 768,700
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree

Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.

How to get in

The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Computer and Information Systems Managers page.

How to become a Computer

Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree
Work experience needed
5 years or more

Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Top skills

Critical ThinkingActive ListeningReading ComprehensionMonitoringSpeakingWriting

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in Montana

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 21 majors mapped to Computer and Information Systems Managers21 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 11.0101Computer and Information Sciences, General
  • 11.0103Information Technology
  • 11.0401Information Science/Studies
  • 11.0701Computer Science
  • 11.0802Data Modeling/Warehousing and Database Administration
  • 11.0901Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications
  • 11.1001Network and System Administration/Administrator
  • 11.1002System, Networking, and LAN/WAN Management/Manager
  • 11.1003Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance
  • 11.1005Information Technology Project Management
  • 30.0801Mathematics and Computer Science
  • 30.1601Accounting and Computer Science
  • 30.3101Human Computer Interaction
  • 30.3901Economics and Computer Science
  • 30.7001Data Science, General
  • 52.0205Operations Management and Supervision
  • 52.1201Management Information Systems, General
  • 52.1206Information Resources Management
  • 52.1207Knowledge Management
  • 52.1299Management Information Systems and Services, Other
  • 52.2101Telecommunications Management

Common questions

Answers for people weighing computer and information systems managers programs in Montana.

What degree do you need to become a Computer?+

Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Computer Science, which awarded 164 degrees in Montana in 2024-25, 44.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Computer?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 11 programs to this occupation. The largest are Computer Science, Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management, Management Information Systems and Services, Computer and Information Sciences, plus 4 more. Together they graduate about 373 people a year in Montana.

How much do computer and information systems managers earn in Montana?+

The median is $132,860 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 24.1% below the U.S. median of $175,140. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.

Is demand for computer and information systems managers growing?+

BLS projects a +15.2% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, much faster than average, with roughly 55,600 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in Montana?+

13 institutions in Montana reported graduates from at least one of the 11 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.

What other job titles do computer and information systems managers work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Information Systems Manager (IS Manager), Information Systems Director (IS Director), Information Technology Manager (IT Manager), Information Technology Director (IT Director) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 11-3021.

Computer and Information Systems Managers in other statesCaliforniaTexasFloridaNew YorkIllinoisUtahGeorgiaMaryland

About the data on this page

Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).

  • BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics

    May 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.

  • IPEDS Completions

    2024-25 (provisional)

    Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.

  • College Scorecard, Field of Study

    2020-21 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.

    Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA

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