Software Engineer

Designs, builds, and maintains software systems.

Also known as:SWE.NET DeveloperAndroid DeveloperAngularJS DeveloperApache Hadoop DeveloperApplication ArchitectApplication Developer

Compensation by seniority

Reported

Median

$136k

Mean

$142k

10th–90th pct

$82k–$215k

Employed (US)

1687890

Confidence: 90% · based on real BLS OEWS data covering all experience levels (not broken out by seniority) · 1,687,890 employed nationally · last updated 9/23/2026

Historical trend & projection

Median total compensation at the typical seniority level for this role, 2021–2025, projected forward under three scenarios.

Simulated

Common skills

JavaScript

Core

TypeScript

Core

System Design

Microservices

Education requirements

Share of postings that require or prefer each level — a signal of typical hiring bars, not a hard rule.

Simulated

Bachelor's Degree

61% require · 27% prefer

Master's Degree

17% require · 33% prefer

No College

9% require · 12% prefer

Explore education impact for related majors →

Common next roles

Enterprise Architect+148.5%Solutions Architect+16.5%Backend Engineer+5.8%Frontend Engineer+3.7%Mobile Engineer+5.5%

Common previous roles

Backend Engineer+5.5%Solutions Architect+14.2%Frontend Engineer+3.6%Mobile Engineer+5.2%Enterprise Architect+59.8%

Demand snapshot

Active openings (simulated)728

Posting growth (est. from real category-level trend)+24.4%

Median days to fill—

Estimated

Employed (US)1,687,890

Projected growth10.5%/yr

Reported

Role characteristics

Remote-friendliness80%

Automation exposure20%

Sources & freshness

Compensation and employment figures on this page are real, reported datafrom the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS survey (all experience levels combined — BLS doesn't break wages out by seniority). Historical trend, projections, and demand figures below remain simulated demo data.

Read the full methodology