IT Jobs in Tucson, AZ
IT jobs in Tucson cluster around big institutions: Tucson Medical Center's desktop team in midtown, cleared network and PC technicians at Davis-Monthan AFB, and federal offices that hire systems administrators. Help desk work runs about $20 to $26 an hour. Current openings are below, followed by who is hiring and how to start.
Current IT Openings in Tucson, AZ
IT Work in Tucson
Tucson has few big software companies, so most general IT work lives inside hospitals, government and defense. Tucson Medical Center on East Grant Road keeps desktop computing analysts supporting clinical floors around the clock. On the southeast side, contractors such as Peraton and General Dynamics Information Technology staff network, systems and PC support for Air Force programs at Davis-Monthan, where a TS/SCI clearance is the price of entry and the pay climbs with it. Federal offices, including the Federal Public Defender for the District of Arizona, hire systems administrators under federal pay scales.
That mix makes Tucson IT different from the Phoenix tech market. Fewer jobs are fully remote, more require a background check or a security clearance, and many reward a steady career at one institution over job-hopping between startups. Pima Community College's East Campus on Irvington Road is the main local training pipeline, feeding help desk and support roles across the metro.
Top Tucson Employers Hiring IT Professionals
These Tucson employers have posted IT roles on their own careers sites:
- Tucson Medical Center - desktop computing analysts on day shift in its Information Technology department.
- Peraton - network administrators and PC technicians on its SITEC contract at Davis-Monthan AFB, with an active TS/SCI clearance required.
- General Dynamics Information Technology - Active Directory, SharePoint, VMware, UNIX and Linux, and network roles on defense programs in the Tucson area.
- Federal Public Defender, District of Arizona - an assistant computer systems administrator in Tucson, posted this summer.
IT Salaries in Tucson
- Entry level (help desk, IT support): roughly $20 to $26 an hour, about $42,000 to $54,000 a year.
- Experienced (desktop analyst, network support, junior sysadmin): roughly $55,000 to $80,000 a year.
- Senior (systems or network administrator, cleared roles): roughly $80,000 to $120,000 a year, and more for cleared network work.
These are estimates that vary by employer and experience. In the May 2023 federal wage survey for the Tucson metro, computer user support specialists had a median of $26.95 an hour and network and computer systems administrators $42.59. Posted pay backs that up: Peraton listed $51,000 to $82,000 for a PC technician and $86,000 to $138,000 for a network administrator, and the Federal Public Defender listed $68,545 to $118,569. A clearance is the biggest single lever on pay.
How to Become an IT Professional in Tucson
Arizona has no state license for IT work. Most entry jobs hire on certifications and troubleshooting skill, with CompTIA A+ as the common first credential. Pima Community College teaches its IT programs at East Campus: an IT Support Specialist certificate and an IT Support Technician certificate, each under a year full time, an IBEST version of the technician certificate that includes A+ exam prep, and two-year AAS degrees in Networking and CyberSecurity. PimaFastTrack also runs an online A+ prep course of up to four months. Defense contractor roles add federal requirements, usually a security clearance and certifications such as Security+.
What the Job Involves
Entry IT work is a ticket queue: resetting passwords, imaging and deploying laptops, fixing printers and network drops, and walking users through software problems by phone or at their desk. With experience the work shifts to managing Active Directory, servers, switches and virtual machines, patching systems, and keeping backups and security controls in order. In a hospital that means clinical systems that cannot go down; on a base it means classified networks with strict rules.
Skills Employers Look For
- Hardware, software and network troubleshooting
- CompTIA A+, then Network+ or Security+
- Windows and Active Directory administration
- Ticketing systems and remote support tools
- Clear, patient communication with non-technical users
- Eligibility for a background check or security clearance
Career Path and Advancement
The Tucson ladder runs help desk to desktop support, then systems or network administrator, then engineer or IT manager. Many people earn Security+ and move into cybersecurity, which Tucson's defense employers hire for steadily. A security clearance earned on a Davis-Monthan contract travels with you to the next contractor, and hospital and federal IT staff often climb inside one employer.
Related Careers in Tucson
These Tucson guides cover the closest IT roles:
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you need a degree to get an IT job in Tucson?
Not for most entry roles. Help desk and IT support jobs usually hire on certifications such as CompTIA A+ and on troubleshooting skill. A degree matters more for senior systems and management roles and for some federal jobs.
How much do IT jobs pay in Tucson?
Help desk and IT support roles run roughly $20 to $26 an hour, experienced analysts about $55,000 to $80,000 a year, and senior systems and network administrators about $80,000 to $120,000. Cleared defense roles at Davis-Monthan can pay more. These are estimates that vary by employer and experience.
Where can you train for IT in Tucson?
Pima Community College's East Campus offers IT Support Specialist and IT Support Technician certificates that take under a year, plus AAS degrees in Networking and CyberSecurity. PimaFastTrack offers an online CompTIA A+ prep course of up to four months.
Do Tucson IT jobs require a security clearance?
Many defense jobs do. Peraton's network administrator and PC technician roles at Davis-Monthan AFB require an active TS/SCI clearance. Hospital, college and most private IT jobs need only a background check.
Which Tucson employers hire IT staff?
Tucson Medical Center, Peraton, General Dynamics Information Technology and federal offices such as the Federal Public Defender have posted IT roles on their own sites. The live job cards above show what is open today.
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