Your raise dies at about 51.5 hours a week. That is when the median computer and information systems manager, at $175,140 a year, drops back to the $65.38 hourly rate a software developer makes at 40 hours [1][2]. The federal database prices a standard week, but its own survey shows 65% of these managers work more than 40 hours [1].

The big picture:

The part I keep circling: the government pay table and the work-week survey sit on the exact same page. Yet only one sets the price.

The Occupational Information Network is the federal job database. It prints a median hourly wage for each job by spreading the yearly salary over 2,080 hours [1][2]. That assumes 40 hours a week for 52 weeks.

But the same page shows 65% of computer and information systems managers work more than 40 hours [1]. Software developers report a 40-hour week nine times out of ten [2].

United States (US) law stops paying for the extra time. The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) sets a salary floor under 29 CFR § 541.600 [4]. If a company pays a salary of at least $684 a week, the job can be exempt from overtime.

Under 29 CFR § 541.100, the main duty must be management [5]. The role must also direct two or more workers. Meet both rules, and hour 41 costs the company nothing.

By the numbers

  • $175,140 — Manager median: The 2025 median pay for computer and information systems managers. The database shows $84.20 an hour because it divides the yearly figure by 2,080 hours [1].
  • 65% — Managers over 40: The share of that job reporting a typical week longer than 40 hours. General and operations managers show a similar 70% share [1][3].
  • $65.38 — Developer rate: The 2025 median hourly wage for software developers. Nine out of ten report a standard 40-hour week [2].
  • 51.5 hours — Break-even: The point where the manager median stops beating the developer rate: 175,140 ÷ (52 × 65.38) [1][2].

What I’d watch:

I have been reading pay tables next to offer letters this week. The hours are the line nobody prices.

  • The band premium: The manager median is 1.288 times the developer median. That creates a gap of about $39,160 a year [1][2]. The extra hours have to fit entirely inside that raise.
  • The second job: General and operations managers show a similar split. They earn $50.85 an hour with 70% working over 40 hours [3]. The 40-hour week is just a math guess built into the table.
  • The bonus slice: Bonus, commission, and restricted stock unit (RSU) pay count as supplemental wages, which employers withhold at a flat 22% up to $1 million a year [6]. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) publishes that rate. Those last hours are withheld like a bonus, not a salary step.
  • The state columns: Each Occupational Information Network page lists median wages by state. The national median is not a local guarantee [1].
  • The duties line: I would watch whether the main duty is actually management [5]. A salaried worker whose main duty is not management can still be owed overtime.

The catch

My read: the math holds, but it covers less ground than it appears to on paper.

The Occupational Information Network reports the share of people in a group, not the exact hours per person [1]. So 51.5 hours is a calculation based on two medians. It is not a stopwatch on a real week.

The manager band also buys scope, title pull, and access to a different job market. A simple rate per hour cannot price those career perks.

The duties test matters just as much as the salary floor [5]. A salaried worker whose main duty is not management can still be owed overtime. Pay above $684 a week does not switch off the rule by itself.

These medians describe broad jobs, not specific offers. One package carries a strike price, a vesting schedule, and a bonus target. Those set the cash flow long before an hourly rate does [1][2].

At a glance

  • The Big Shift: The federal job database prices manager pay as if every week were 40 hours. But its own survey reports that 65% of computer and information systems managers work more than 40 hours.
  • Why It Matters: The median manager earns $39,160 a year more than the median software developer. That gap vanishes at roughly 51.5 hours a week, after which the manager median pays less per hour than the developer median.
  • What I’d Watch:
  • The band premium: The distance between the two medians is about $39,160 a year. That is the total raise the extra hours must justify [1][2].
  • The duties test: The rule checks whether the main duty is management and the role directs two or more workers [5].
  • The withholding rate: The tax treatment of bonus pay matters. Supplemental wages face a flat 22% withholding rate up to $1 million a year [6].
  • The Catch: The survey reports population shares, not exact hours, so 51.5 hours is math on medians rather than a real week. The band also buys scope and a different job market that an hourly rate cannot capture.

Related reading

Sources

[1] O*NET OnLine (US Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration), Computer and Information Systems Managers, 11-3021.00 — “Median wages (2025) $84.20 hourly, $175,140 annual”; work context, Duration of Typical Work Week: 65% responded “More than 40 hours.” https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/11-3021.00 [2] O*NET OnLine (US Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration), Software Developers, 15-1252.00 — “Median wages (2025) $65.38 hourly, $135,980 annual”; work context, Duration of Typical Work Week: 90% responded “40 hours.” https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/15-1252.00 [3] O*NET OnLine (US Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration), General and Operations Managers, 11-1021.00 — “Median wages (2025) $50.85 hourly, $105,770 annual”; work context, Duration of Typical Work Week: 70% responded “More than 40 hours.” https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/11-1021.00 [4] 29 CFR § 541.600, Amount of salary required (Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, edition current as of 2026-10-14). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/section-541.600 [5] 29 CFR § 541.100, General rule for executive employees (Electronic Code of Federal Regulations). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/section-541.100 [6] Internal Revenue Service, Publication 15 (2026), Circular E, Employer’s Tax Guide — “Withholding on supplemental wages.” https://www.irs.gov/publications/p15