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 6544 Software Developer / Engineer job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 225295 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 2015:

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 $120,801.

State

The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $112,518.

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 $102,962.

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	2.58%
Bachelor's Degree	66.06%
Master's Degree	22.74%
Doctoral Degree	6.45%
Other	2.62%

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	15.64%
3 to 5 years	48.09%
6 to 8 years	22.42%
9+ years	13.85%

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 (32.73%)
Problem Solving (20.86%)
Troubleshooting (Problem Solving) (19.96%)
Management (18.92%)
Operations (14.77%)
Leadership (13.21%)
Writing (12.62%)
Innovation (12.41%)
Research (11.53%)
Planning (11.28%)

Defining Skills

A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.

JavaScript (Programming Language) (27.22%)
CI/CD (14.38%)
Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) (9.4%)
Docker (Software) (13.11%)
Version Control (11.78%)
Front End (Software Engineering) (9.47%)
HyperText Markup Language (HTML) (11.58%)
Scalability (16.89%)
Debugging (20.97%)
C++ (Programming Language) (21.94%)
Kubernetes (13.23%)
Jenkins (10.31%)
Python (Programming Language) (32.35%)
Test Automation (10.43%)
React.js (Javascript Library) (14.77%)
Unit Testing (11.86%)
Java (Programming Language) (32.83%)
Web Services (9.1%)
TypeScript (8.55%)
Linux (16.36%)
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) (12%)
C (Programming Language) (12.78%)
Code Review (14.68%)
Software Engineering (61.36%)
RESTful API (12.37%)
Microservices (12.1%)
Full Stack Development (12.85%)
Software Development (45.38%)
Git (Version Control System) (16.45%)
C# (Programming Language) (18.79%)
Amazon Web Services (23.76%)
Agile Methodology (36.66%)
Software Development Life Cycle (13.22%)
Computer Engineering (13.78%)
Node.js (Javascript Library) (8.48%)
Algorithms (11.05%)
Application Programming Interface (API) (20.65%)
Application Development (8.84%)
Computer Science (50.06%)
Angular (Web Framework) (12.43%)

Necessary Skills

A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.

DevOps (13.28%)
JIRA (9.67%)
Software Systems (9.15%)
Microsoft Azure (14.87%)
Automation (19.28%)
Operating Systems (8.54%)
SQL (Programming Language) (25.44%)
Workflow Management (9.73%)
Scripting (11.56%)
Scrum (Software Development) (14.05%)
Project Management (9.46%)

Distinguishing Skills

A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.

.NET Framework (3.1%)
PostgreSQL (6.4%)
Front End Design (3.12%)
Azure DevOps (3.18%)
MongoDB (4.5%)
Test-Driven Development (TDD) (6.02%)
Testability (2.94%)
Agile Software Development (5.62%)
Object-Oriented Design (4.44%)
Software Design (8.5%)
Go (Programming Language) (6.41%)
NoSQL (7.69%)
Continuous Integration (9.43%)
Web Applications (5.09%)
Spring Framework (5.16%)
JQuery (3.82%)
Requirements Analysis (3.67%)
HTML5 (3.6%)
Architectural Design (4.48%)
Extensible Markup Language (XML) (5.54%)
Embedded Systems (3.39%)
Software Quality (SQA/SQC) (5.87%)
Embedded Software (3.57%)
Github (5.69%)
Terraform (4.43%)
Programming Tools (3.56%)
PHP (Scripting Language) (2.91%)
Spring Boot (4.89%)
Relational Database Management Systems (3.43%)
Microsoft Visual Studio (3.72%)
Software Architecture (3.51%)
JSON (5.39%)
Software Testing (5.67%)
Android (Operating System) (2.59%)
User Interface (UI) (4.78%)
Software Design Patterns (7.1%)
MySQL (5.26%)
Gitlab (3.76%)
Relational Databases (6.89%)
Apache Kafka (6.16%)
Unix (5.55%)
Back End (Software Engineering) (5.74%)
Integration Testing (3.48%)
Data Structures (6.3%)
Development Testing (4.46%)
Microsoft SQL Servers (4.72%)

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.

Full Stack Development (15.03%)
Go (Programming Language) (7.5%)
Git (Version Control System) (19.24%)
C (Programming Language) (14.95%)
PHP (Scripting Language) (3.41%)
Algorithms (12.92%)
Android (Operating System) (3.03%)
Architectural Design (5.24%)
C++ (Programming Language) (25.66%)
Continuous Integration (11.03%)
Data Structures (7.37%)
Linux (19.13%)
Development Testing (5.21%)
Embedded Systems (3.96%)
Embedded Software (4.17%)
Python (Programming Language) (37.84%)
Software Architecture (4.1%)
Software Design (9.94%)
Software Engineering (71.77%)
Kubernetes (15.47%)
Terraform (5.18%)

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
Full Stack Software Engineer
Principal Software Engineer
Lead Software Engineer
Software Development Engineer
Software Engineering Intern
Staff Software Engineer
Servicenow Developer
Software Test Engineer

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

Capital One (3899)
Boeing (3345)
Amazon (3331)
Leidos (2755)
Lockheed Martin (2366)
Ford (2226)
Northrop Grumman (2104)
Actalent (2079)
Randstad (2033)
CTG (1987)

North Carolina

Randstad (390)
MetLife (254)
Wells Fargo (161)
Actalent (127)
Fidelity Investments (120)
Kforce (120)
Lowe's (73)
CTG (64)
Truist Financial (63)
Applied Research Associates (61)

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!

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.

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