Software Developer / Engineer
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
A Software Developer or Engineer designs or improves computer software. Oversees the entire software development process. Analyzes customer or user needs, designs programs, writes code or instructs computer programmers, tests design, and documents programs. May assist with upgrades or maintenance. May specialize in the design of computer applications or computer systems.
Job Outlook
There were 6711 Software Developer / Engineer job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 209205 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Software Developer / Engineer industry, which includes the Software Developer / Engineer career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2016:
Salary
Many new Software Developer / Engineer jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.
National
The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $129,672.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $119,949.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Software Developer / Engineer postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $109,283.
Education and Experience
Posted Software Developer / Engineer jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.
| Education Level | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Associate's Degree | 0% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 63.35% |
| Master's Degree | 21.46% |
| Doctoral Degree | 4.87% |
| Other | 2.96% |
Posted Software Developer / Engineer jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.
| Years of Experience | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | 15.46% |
| 3 to 5 years | 47.81% |
| 6 to 8 years | 22.93% |
| 9+ years | 13.8% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Software Developer / Engineer positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.
Baseline Skills
A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.
- Communication (36.28%)
- Problem Solving (25.94%)
- Troubleshooting (Problem Solving) (23.77%)
- Management (18.85%)
- Operations (16.55%)
- Innovation (15.38%)
- Leadership (13.11%)
- Mentorship (12.7%)
- Writing (10.63%)
- Planning (10.53%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Software Engineering (56.42%)
- Computer Science (51.17%)
- Software Development (45.93%)
- Agile Methodology (34.36%)
- Python (Programming Language) (34.05%)
- Java (Programming Language) (29.92%)
- JavaScript (Programming Language) (27.28%)
- SQL (Programming Language) (26.62%)
- Amazon Web Services (26.99%)
- Application Programming Interface (API) (26.09%)
- C++ (Programming Language) (17.83%)
- Debugging (21.72%)
- C# (Programming Language) (17.28%)
- Scalability (27.07%)
- Code Review (19.86%)
- Git (Version Control System) (16.66%)
- Linux (12.89%)
- CI/CD (18.23%)
- React.js (Javascript Library) (16.22%)
- Software Development Life Cycle (14.52%)
- Version Control (15.03%)
- Unit Testing (11.93%)
- DevOps (12.97%)
- Angular (Web Framework) (11.36%)
- RESTful API (13.15%)
- Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) (11.97%)
- C (Programming Language) (9.61%)
- HyperText Markup Language (HTML) (11.29%)
- Computer Engineering (9.4%)
- Kubernetes (13.88%)
- Docker (Software) (13.43%)
- Microservices (12.53%)
- Programming Languages (12.65%)
- Software Solutions (12.32%)
- Full Stack Development (12.8%)
- Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) (8.36%)
- Algorithms (9.58%)
- Application Development (8.93%)
- Front End (Software Engineering) (10.37%)
- Web Services (8.05%)
- Jenkins (8.91%)
- Node.js (Javascript Library) (9.61%)
- Continuous Integration (8.03%)
- Test Automation (8.66%)
- TypeScript (10.71%)
- Software Design (7.14%)
- Relational Databases (7.68%)
- Software Design Patterns (6.65%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Automation (18.45%)
- Microsoft Azure (17.36%)
- Scrum (Software Development) (12.71%)
- Workflow Management (14.5%)
- Project Management (9.54%)
- Scripting (9.62%)
- Business Requirements (9.24%)
- JIRA (9.36%)
- Machine Learning (9.67%)
- Software Systems (6.39%)
- Operating Systems (6.62%)
- Systems Development Life Cycle (7.23%)
Distinguishing Skills
A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.
- Data Structures (7.26%)
- NoSQL (7.75%)
- Extensible Markup Language (XML) (5.47%)
- PostgreSQL (7.98%)
- JSON (5.3%)
- Software Quality (SQA/SQC) (7.38%)
- Apache Kafka (6.78%)
- Github (7.4%)
- Architectural Design (6.07%)
- Go (Programming Language) (7.12%)
- Back End (Software Engineering) (6.78%)
- MySQL (5.11%)
- Agile Software Development (4.28%)
- Web Applications (5.25%)
- Microsoft SQL Servers (4.7%)
- Test-Driven Development (TDD) (4.52%)
- Unix (4.26%)
- Spring Framework (5.23%)
- Spring Boot (5.46%)
- Object-Oriented Design (3.49%)
- Development Testing (5.32%)
- User Interface (UI) (5.13%)
- MongoDB (5.07%)
- Technical Design (3.43%)
- Microsoft Visual Studio (3.25%)
- HTML5 (3.01%)
- JQuery (2.7%)
- Software Testing (3.41%)
- Containerization (5.31%)
- Front End Design (4.57%)
- Azure DevOps (3.73%)
- Requirements Analysis (2.63%)
- Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) (2.99%)
- Jakarta EE (2.85%)
- .NET Framework (2.78%)
- Gitlab (3.73%)
- Embedded Software (2.12%)
- Apache Maven (2.72%)
- Testability (3.44%)
- Integration Testing (2.85%)
- Programming Tools (3.01%)
Salary Boosting Skills
A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed.
- Go (Programming Language) (10.26%)
- Scalability (39.01%)
- Node.js (Javascript Library) (13.85%)
- Software Engineering (81.31%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Software Developer / Engineer skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Software Engineer
- Software Developer
- Software Development Engineer
- Developer
- Principal Software Engineer
- Staff Software Engineer
- Full Stack Software Engineer
- Lead Software Engineer
- Servicenow Developer
- Software Engineering Intern
Similar Occupations
If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Software Developer / Engineer jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- Amazon (8427)
- Lumen Technologies (1784)
- Leidos (1706)
- The Judge Group (1698)
- General Motors (1683)
- Eliassen Group (1609)
- Capital One (1568)
- Robert Half (1469)
- Northrop Grumman (1439)
- JPMorgan Chase (1350)
North Carolina
- The Judge Group (345)
- Wells Fargo (144)
- Truist Financial (137)
- Innova Solution (105)
- Motion Recruitment (105)
- Randstad (98)
- Robert Half (80)
- First Citizens Bank (76)
- Lowe's (75)
- Red Hat (72)
NC State Programs Relevant to this Career
If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!
- Computer Programming Undergraduate Certificates
- Computer Science Master's Degrees
- Computer Science Graduate Certificates
- Foundations of Data Science Master's Degrees
- Operations Research Master's Degrees
All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from Lightcast. For more information about how Lightcast gathers data and what it represents, see Lightcast Data: Basic Overview on Lightcast's Knowledge Base website.