Occupations · Computer and Mathematical
Software Developers
Research, design, and develop computer and network software or specialized utility programs. Analyze user needs and develop software solutions, applying principles and techniques of computer science, engineering, and mathematical analysis. Update software or enhance existing software capabilities. May work with computer hardware engineers to integrate hardware and software systems, and develop specifications and performance requirements. May maintain databases within an application area, working individually or coordinating database development as part of a team.
O*NET 30.3 Database (USDOL/ETA) · occupation code 15-1252.00
What it pays
A single “average salary” hides the spread. This is the whole distribution — the gap between the bottom and top bar is usually the number that matters.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024 · national, cross-industry · annual wage
These are national figures, identical for every reader. The report recuts them for your metro area and ranks it among all of them.
Get yours →Pay over time
Median up 10% between 2021 and 2024, before inflation. The band shows the 10th to 90th percentile.
BLS OEWS, one release per year. Before May 2011 only national estimates were published, so geography detail starts there.
Where the jobs are
| Metro area | Median wage | Employed |
|---|---|---|
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | $161,970 | 119,610 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $208,270 | 90,280 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA | $174,910 | 76,900 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $169,340 | 72,730 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $150,880 | 68,210 |
BLS OEWS May 2024, metropolitan estimates · the 5 areas with the most people in this occupation
Your metro area, and where it ranks
LockedAll metropolitan areas BLS publishes for this occupation, with your own city's median and its rank among them.
Open in your report →Typical education to enter: Bachelor's degree · BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
What people in this job actually do
Ordered by how important the work is rated.
- Monitor functioning of equipment to ensure system operates in conformance with specifications.
- Analyze user needs and software requirements to determine feasibility of design within time and cost constraints.
- Develop or direct software system testing or validation procedures, programming, or documentation.
- Coordinate installation of software system.
- Confer with systems analysts, engineers, programmers and others to design systems and to obtain information on project limitations and capabilities, performance requirements and interfaces.
- Modify existing software to correct errors, adapt it to new hardware, or upgrade interfaces and improve performance.
- Prepare reports or correspondence concerning project specifications, activities, or status.
- Analyze information to determine, recommend, and plan installation of a new system or modification of an existing system.
- Store, retrieve, and manipulate data for analysis of system capabilities and requirements.
- Design, develop and modify software systems, using scientific analysis and mathematical models to predict and measure outcomes and consequences of design.
- Determine system performance standards.
- Supervise the work of programmers, technologists and technicians and other engineering and scientific personnel.
O*NET 30.3 task ratings, importance scale
Skills that matter most
Importance, rated 1 to 5.
O*NET 30.3 skills, importance scale
Software and tools
A dot marks what O*NET flags as in demand.
O*NET 30.3 software skills · hot-technology flag
What your tools are worth
Occupation-based, not posting-based: how much employment, pay and projected growth sit behind each tool. It is not a count of job ads.
| Tool | Value | Spread across occupations |
|---|---|---|
| C# | 88 | 16 → 55 occupations since 2015 |
| Python | 88 | 57 → 132 occupations since 2015 |
| C | 87 | 51 → 69 occupations since 2015 |
What your tools are worth
LockedThe same score for every tool in this occupation, plus the ones you ticked and the ones you did not.
Open in your report →What this work is actually like
Conditions rated against the average across all occupations — only what makes this job different is listed.
O*NET 30.3 Job Zones
Working conditions that stand out
O*NET 30.3 work context, frequency scale · observed 2025-08
How people actually get in
Share of workers by the education they hold.
O*NET 30.2 education, training and experience · observed 2025-08
What kind of person the work suits
Occupational interest profile, rated 1 to 7.
O*NET 30.2 occupational interests (RIASEC)
What you take with you
Skills rated for how well they transfer into other occupations.
O*NET 30.3 transferable skills, importance scale
Knowledge the work draws on
Abilities it leans on
O*NET 30.3 abilities and knowledge, importance scale
How this job is advertised
The same work is posted under many titles — this is what to search for.
O*NET 30.3 job titles reported for this occupation
Get this as a personal report
The same sourced evidence, recut for the closest published view of your city, state or industry, as a dated PDF.
Free page vs. the $29 report
The page above is a public national reference, identical for every reader — and we deliberately give away a lot of it. The report does three things this page cannot: it answers the question you type in your own words, using only figures that appear in the report with their sources; it ranks your city among all 445 metros instead of the twelve shown here; and it places your level on the employer pay ladder. Choose $49 for the wider comparison of industries, places and next moves, $99 to add named employers and the international purchasing-power index.
What changed since 2020
Comparing O*NET release 25.1 (2020-11-01) with 30.3 (2026-05-01). Signs, not colour alone, carry the meaning. 6 entries that were only relabelled between releases are left out.
Now listed 114
No longer listed 33
Diff across the O*NET releases held here in full since October 2015, following occupations through merges and retirements. O*NET re-surveys occupations on a rolling cycle, so “no change” can also mean “not re-surveyed”.
Related jobs
O*NET 30.3 related occupations
Also called
O*NET 30.3 alternative titles
The same work in Europe
| ESCO occupation | ISCO | Match |
|---|---|---|
| ICT application developer | 2514.2 | broader |
| software developer | 2512.3 | broader |
| ICT system developer | 2511.14 | broader |
| software architect | 2512.2 | broader |
| software analyst | 2512.1 | broader |
| industrial mobile devices software developer | 2514.3 | broader |
| database developer | 2521.3 | broader |
| mobile application developer | 2514.2.2 | broader |
| user interface developer | 2512.4 | broader |
| embedded systems software developer | 2514.2.1 | broader |
| digital games developer | 2513.1 | broader |
| gambling, betting, and lottery game developer | 2120.3 | broader |
Official ESCO ↔ O*NET crosswalk (ESCO Secretariat with USDOL/ETA)
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