Computer Programmer
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
A Computer Programmer writes code, or instructions that a computer can follow, to create software programs. Follows program designs created by software developers and assists with software program design work. Updates and expands programs, tests for errors and fix errors. Uses different computer languages as needed to write programs.
Job Outlook
There were 296 Computer Programmer job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 7866 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Computer Programmer industry, which includes the Computer Programmer career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2015:
Salary
Many new Computer Programmer 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 $75,703.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $77,864.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Computer Programmer postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $47,638.
Education and Experience
Posted Computer Programmer 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 | 5.66% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 28.72% |
| Master's Degree | 7.82% |
| Doctoral Degree | 2.15% |
| Other | 9.56% |
Posted Computer Programmer 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 | 36.51% |
| 3 to 5 years | 36.45% |
| 6 to 8 years | 17.18% |
| 9+ years | 9.86% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Computer Programmer 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 (19.73%)
- Management (13.18%)
- Problem Solving (9.9%)
- Troubleshooting (Problem Solving) (9.57%)
- Leadership (8.42%)
- Writing (8.31%)
- Detail Oriented (8.25%)
- Operations (8.05%)
- Research (6.89%)
- Planning (6.47%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Customer Relationship Building (24.99%)
- SQL (Programming Language) (25.67%)
- Agile Methodology (12.42%)
- Automation (18.01%)
- Computer Science (29.8%)
- Project Management (20.68%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Computer Programmer skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Framer
- Cobol Developer
- GIS Program Manager
- Programmer
- Program Manager
- Custom Framer
- Systems Programmer
- Programming Manager
- Statistical Programmer
- Variable Data Programmer
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.
- Programmer / Analyst
- Application Developer / Engineer
- Mobile Developer / Engineer
- Software Developer / Engineer
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Computer Programmer jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- Michaels (724)
- Encompass Health (131)
- Beacon Hill Staffing Group (97)
- Takeda Pharmaceutical Company (85)
- Tyson Foods (63)
- Actalent (56)
- Epic Games (51)
- Outlier (48)
- University of California (45)
- Umb Financial Corporation (43)
North Carolina
- Epic Games (30)
- Michaels (21)
- Charlotte, Nc (13)
- Encompass Health (8)
- Alexander Youth Network (4)
- Labcorp Drug Development (4)
- Kitty Hawk Kites (4)
- Sueep (4)
- Actalent (3)
- Sunrise Systems (3)
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 Graduate Certificates
- Computer Science 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.