Profession · Full profile

Software Developer

Designs, builds and maintains the applications and systems that run on computers, phones and devices.

Average salary

$135,980

Salary range

$82,460 – $214,670

Training time

4 years (bachelor's)

Job market

Much faster than average

9/10

Work-life balance

Good

7/10

A software developer designs, builds and maintains computer applications and the systems underneath them. The work starts with understanding what users need, then moves to designing how the parts of a program fit together, writing and testing code, fixing defects and documenting the result for future upgrades. Most developers work in teams with other developers, testers, analysts and product staff. In the US, software engineers, application developers and DevOps engineers are counted in the same official occupation, so the figures on this page cover all of those titles. The median annual wage is $135,980. Employment is projected to grow 10% over the next decade, much faster than the average for all occupations, with about 95,300 openings a year.

A workday

A day in the life

What does a workday really look like?

A developer on an agile product team at a software company spends most of the day building and reviewing code for a new feature.

9:00 AM - 9:30 AM
Check alerts and open pull requests
Scans overnight error alerts and replies to review comments on yesterday's code.
9:30 AM - 9:45 AM
Daily stand-up
Each team member shares progress, plans and blockers for the sprint.
9:45 AM - 12:00 PM
Build a new feature
Writes the code for a new screen and the service behind it, working in short, tested steps.
12:00 PM - 12:45 PM
Lunch
Time away from the screen.
12:45 PM - 1:45 PM
Requirements session with product manager
Walks through user needs for the next feature and flags what is not feasible within time and budget.
1:45 PM - 3:30 PM
Write tests and finish the feature
Adds automated tests, fixes failing checks in the build pipeline and opens a pull request.
3:30 PM - 4:15 PM
Review a teammate's code
Reads another developer's changes line by line and suggests fixes for bugs, security or readability.
4:15 PM - 5:00 PM
Update tickets and documentation
Moves tickets on the sprint board and documents how the new feature works for future maintenance.

Task breakdown

A developer maintaining internal systems at a bank or insurer fixes a production defect, upgrades an interface and prepares an evening release.

8:00 AM - 8:30 AM
Email and change tickets
Reviews change requests and approvals needed for tonight's release.
8:30 AM - 10:00 AM
Debug a production defect
Traces a calculation error reported by users through logs and code, then writes and tests a fix.
10:00 AM - 10:30 AM
Defect triage with QA testers
Agrees with testers which defects block the release and which can wait.
10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Query data to confirm the fix
Pulls records from the database to check the fix produces correct results on real cases.
12:00 PM - 12:30 PM
Lunch
Short break, often at the desk on release days.
12:30 PM - 1:30 PM
Design review with architects
Discusses performance requirements and interfaces for a planned system change with analysts and engineers.
1:30 PM - 3:30 PM
Upgrade an integration interface
Updates code that connects the system to a vendor service whose interface is changing.
3:30 PM - 4:15 PM
Status report for the business
Writes a short update on project status, risks and release contents for business stakeholders.
4:15 PM - 5:30 PM
Prepare the evening release
Runs final checks and the rollback plan with the operations team before the release window.

Salary data

What do you really earn?

Salary by experience, sector and region.

Minimum

$82,460

Average

$135,980

Maximum

$214,670

Salary by region

Region	Min	Avg.	Max
National	$82,460	$135,980	$214,670
California	$105,060	$174,410	$272,670
Texas	$82,600	$132,150	$183,680
New York	$97,430	$166,180	$224,590
Washington	$96,810	$166,540	$255,350
Virginia	$83,350	$136,460	$211,930

Typical benefits

High pay across the range

The median annual wage is $135,980, and only 10% of developers earn less than $82,460.

Strong long-term demand

Employment is projected to grow 10% over the next decade, driven by software for AI, connected devices, robotics, security and electric vehicles.

Choice of industries

Developers work for IT services firms, banks and insurers, software publishers, manufacturers and corporate headquarters, so skills carry across sectors.

Digital work that suits hybrid setups

The work happens on a computer, so many employers allow hybrid or remote arrangements; how much varies by company and team.

Employer benefits in salaried roles

Nearly all developers are salaried employees, where US employers commonly offer health insurance and a retirement plan.

Routes into leadership

Experienced developers can move into project management or computer and information systems management, a group with a median of $175,140.

Pathways

Education pathways

Which paths lead to this profession?

Bachelor's degree

4 years full time

Bachelor's degree in computer science or a related field

The typical entry-level education is a bachelor's degree in computer and information technology or a related field such as engineering or mathematics. Programs build the strong programming background developers need, and an internship at a software company during college adds practical experience.

Costs: About $11,950 a year in average published tuition and fees at a public four-year college for in-state students, and about $45,000 a year at a private nonprofit four-year college
Entry requirements: High school diploma or equivalent and admission to a college or university.
High school subjects: Mathematics (algebra, precalculus, calculus), computer science, physics, English

Master's degree

Varies by program and study load; part-time and online programs often take 2 to 3 years

Master's degree in computer science or software engineering

Not required for most jobs, but some employers prefer a master's degree for certain developer positions, for example in specialized or research-heavy work.

Costs: Tuition varies widely by school and residency. Online programs can cost far less: Georgia Tech's Online Master of Science in Computer Science (OMSCS) costs under $8,000 in total tuition and fees
Entry requirements: Bachelor's degree, usually in computer science, engineering or mathematics.
High school subjects: Mathematics, computer science, physics

On-the-job training

Usually one summer, or a semester-long co-op

Software development internship

Internships let students work on real code in a company team before graduating. They are a common way to gain the experience employers look for in entry-level hires and often lead to a job offer.

Costs: No tuition; most software development internships are paid, so the intern earns a wage.
Entry requirements: Usually enrollment in a computer science or related degree program and basic programming skills.
High school subjects: Training topics: Programming, version control, testing, working in an agile team

Certificate

One exam of 130 minutes after self-study; the certification is valid for 3 years

Cloud developer certification, such as AWS Certified Developer - Associate

Not required, but cloud certifications show employers you can build and deploy applications on a specific platform. The AWS Certified Developer - Associate exam (DVA-C02) has 65 questions and must be renewed every 3 years.

Costs: Exam fee $150
Entry requirements: No formal prerequisites; AWS recommends at least 1 year of hands-on experience developing and maintaining applications on AWS.
High school subjects: Exam topics: Developing applications with cloud services, deployment, security, troubleshooting and optimization

Profile

Skills & personality

Is this a good fit for you?

Hard skills

ProgrammingWriting clean, working code in one or more languages such as Java, Python, JavaScript or C#.
Software designPlanning how the pieces of an application or system fit together, using models and diagrams.
Testing and debuggingWriting automated tests, tracing defects and modifying existing code to fix errors or improve performance.
Version control and CI/CDWorking with Git-based tools such as GitLab or Bitbucket and automated build and deployment pipelines.
Cloud and infrastructure toolsDeploying software with platforms and tools such as AWS CloudFormation, Red Hat OpenShift, Chef or Puppet.
Data and databasesStoring, retrieving and analyzing data, often with SQL, to check how a system performs.

Soft skills

Critical thinkingWeighing design options and spotting flaws in logic before they turn into bugs.
Active learningPicking up new languages, frameworks and tools throughout a career, because the stack keeps changing.
CommunicationExplaining technical problems to teammates and explaining to nontechnical users how the software works.
TeamworkWorking closely with other developers, testers and analysts, since nearly all software is built in teams.

Is this a good fit for you?

✓
Intellectual curiosityWants to understand how systems work and why a bug happens, not only how to make it go away.
✓
Attention to detailKeeps many parts of a system in mind at once; one wrong character can break a program.
✓
InnovationLooks for new and better approaches to designing and improving software.
✓
AdaptabilityCopes with shifting requirements, new tools and changing priorities from sprint to sprint.
✓
DependabilityDelivers working code on time and owns problems in production instead of passing them on.

Market

Job market & outlook

What does the market look like?

Openings per year

95,300

Trend

Growth

+10.2%

AI impact

7/10

AI coding assistants already write, explain and test routine code, so the typing part of the job is changing fastest. Understanding user needs, designing systems, judging trade-offs and taking responsibility for software in production remain human work, and AI itself is expected to drive demand for developers.

Regional demand

California

About 284,390 jobs; median pay $174,410 a year.

7/10

Texas

About 163,880 jobs; median pay $132,150 a year.

5/10

New York

About 113,510 jobs; median pay $166,180 a year.

5/10

Washington

About 107,030 jobs; median pay $166,540 a year.

10/10

Virginia

About 88,280 jobs; median pay $136,460 a year.

10/10

Growth

Career paths

Where can this profession take you?

Vertical growth

Junior or associate software developer
0-2 years
Works on well-defined tickets under guidance, learns the codebase and the team's review and release process.
Software developer
2-5 years
Builds features independently, reviews others' code and takes part in design discussions.
Senior developer or tech lead
5-10 years
Designs larger systems, sets technical direction for a team and mentors junior developers.
IT project manager or engineering manager
8+ years
Oversees the development process, deadlines, standards and budgets, or leads an IT department.

Horizontal move

QA engineer
Developers with a strong testing mindset can specialize in test plans, automated testing and defect analysis.
Systems analyst
Developers who enjoy the business side can move to studying an organization's systems and designing improvements.
Database administrator
Developers who work heavily with data can specialize in organizing, securing and tuning databases.

Good to know

Practical info

Working hours: Full time. Most software developers work full time; shift and weekend work is not common, although some teams run on-call rotations for systems in production.
Remote work: Often possible, but varies by employer. The work is fully computer based, while teamwork is extremely important for 71% of developers, so many employers mix remote days with time in the office.
Physical requirements: Low, but sedentary: 95% of developers spend time sitting continually or almost continually.
Typical employers: Computer systems design and related services (29% of jobs), finance and insurance (11%), software publishers (10%), manufacturing (8%) and management of companies (6%). Only 1.5% are self-employed.
Professional associations: IEEE Computer Society and the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM).

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

How much does a software developer make in the US?

Software developers earn a median annual wage of $135,980, or $65.38 per hour. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $82,460 and the top 10% more than $214,670. Location matters a lot: the median was $174,410 in California and $132,150 in Texas. Official wage figures are not broken down by years of experience.

Is software developer a good career?

By the official numbers, yes. Employment of software developers is projected to grow 10% over the next decade, much faster than the average for all occupations, with about 95,300 openings a year. The median wage is $135,980. The trade-offs are constant learning as tools change, long hours at a desk, and growing pressure to work efficiently alongside AI coding tools.

How long does it take to become a software developer?

Usually about four years, the length of a bachelor's degree. A bachelor's degree in computer and information technology or a related field, such as engineering or mathematics, is the typical entry-level education, with no prior work experience or on-the-job training required. Internships during college help you land the first job. Some employers prefer a master's degree for certain positions.

What is the difference between a software developer and a software engineer?

In US statistics there is no difference: software engineers, software developers and application developers are counted in the same occupation, with a median wage of $135,980. In practice, employers often use "engineer" for roles focused on system-wide design. Software engineers typically take a broad view of a project's requirements, scope and order of work.

Which states pay software developers the most?

California had the highest median wage for software developers at $174,410, followed by Washington at $166,540 and New York at $166,180. California also had the most jobs, 284,390. Washington has the highest concentration among the top states: its location quotient of 2.78 means software developers make up almost three times their national share of jobs there.

Will AI replace software developers?

Unlikely. Employment of software developers is projected to grow 10% over the next decade, with the expansion of software for artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and robotics as a driver of demand. AI tools are changing the work, especially routine coding, testing and documentation, but designing systems and understanding user needs still require developers.

Do you need a degree to become a software developer?

Most employers expect one, but not all. A bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education. Some large employers have removed degree requirements from many job postings, but actual hiring of people without degrees has changed much less than the postings suggest. Without a degree, a strong portfolio of real projects is essential.

Can software developers work remotely?

Many can, at least part of the week, but it depends on the employer. The work is done entirely on a computer, which makes remote work practical, but software is built in teams: teamwork is extremely important for 71% of developers, so many companies use hybrid schedules.

In depth

All about software developer

The background, context and details.

Developer, engineer, programmer: what the titles mean

Job ads use several titles for the same work. In US statistics, software developers, software engineers, application developers and DevOps engineers all fall under occupation 15-1252, software developers, which holds 1,717,800 jobs. Software engineers are typically the people who take a broad view of a project's requirements, plan its scope and may direct other developers. Computer programmers are a separate occupation: they write, modify and test code that others have designed, and their median pay is $100,390, well below the $135,980 median for developers. In practice the line between the two is blurry, because many developers write most of their code themselves.

Where developers work and what they earn

The largest share of developers, 29%, works in computer systems design and related services: IT consultancies and contractors that build software for clients. Work there is project based, and you may change client or codebase every few months. Finance and insurance employ 11%. Developers at banks and insurers often maintain large internal systems, work under strict change and security rules, and release on fixed schedules. Software publishers, the companies that sell software products, employ 10%, and this is where agile product teams and frequent releases are the norm. Manufacturing (8%) brings embedded and systems work, such as software for devices and vehicles. Management of companies (6%) means corporate headquarters IT. Self-employment is rare at 1.5%.

California leads on both jobs and pay: 284,390 software developer jobs, with a median of $174,410. Texas follows with 163,880 jobs and a median of $132,150, then New York (113,510 jobs, median $166,180), Washington (107,030 jobs, median $166,540) and Virginia (88,280 jobs, median $136,460). Washington stands out for concentration, with a location quotient of 2.78, meaning developers make up almost three times their national share of jobs there. Virginia's location quotient is 1.98.

Nationally, the middle half of developers earned between $105,210 and $171,980, and the top 10% more than $214,670. Official wage figures are not broken down by years of experience.

What employers look for on a resume

A bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering or mathematics is still the standard filter, and some employers prefer a master's degree for specialized roles. Beyond that, employers look for evidence that you can ship working software: internships, projects with real users, and code they can read. Tools in demand for the occupation include GitLab and Bitbucket for version control, AWS CloudFormation, Red Hat OpenShift, Chef and Puppet for cloud and infrastructure work, TensorFlow for machine learning, and Power BI and Looker for analytics. A cloud certification can help show platform skills, but it does not replace a track record.

Employers also screen hard on communication. Developers must explain problems to teammates and explain to nontechnical users how software works, and interviews usually include talking through a design or a piece of code out loud.

What a typical career looks like

Most developers start on a team, working on well-defined tickets while they learn a codebase, a review process and how releases work. After a few years they build features on their own and take part in design decisions. Senior developers and tech leads design larger systems and mentor others. From there the path splits. Some stay technical and grow into software architect roles. Others move into management, as project management specialists or computer and information systems managers; computer and information systems managers earn a median $175,140. A third group specializes sideways, into testing, databases or systems analysis. Software quality assurance analysts and testers, the closest related occupation, earn a median $104,300, and their employment is projected to grow 6% over the next decade.

The honest downsides

The job is sedentary: 95% of developers sit continually or almost continually. Keeping up is part of the job, because developers must stay current on new tools and languages throughout their career, often on their own time. Release deadlines and on-call duty for production systems can push work into evenings.

AI is the open question. Much of the daily work is digital, and AI coding assistants now produce routine code, tests and documentation quickly. That raises the bar for entry-level developers, who need to show judgment rather than only typing speed. At the same time, employment is projected to grow 10% over the next decade, with about 95,300 openings a year, and the projected demand comes from software for AI, connected devices, robotics, security and electric vehicles.