How Much Do Software Developers Make?

We All Know Software Is Lucrative But How Much Do Software Developers Get Paid?

We all read the headlines and the stories about mega rich tech CEOs who started out in their mother’s basement or garage and built their empire. What about the average software developer? How much do software developers make?

Factors In Compensation

When talking about financial compensation as a software developer there is a need to clarify some things. Firstly your geographical location will affect how much money you make. Engineers in Silicon Valley or New York or Dallas area are going to be paid multitudes more than an engineer from Louisville, Kentucky. That being said you must also factor in the adjusted cost of living based on the area which you reside. $100,000 in San Fransisco is not the same as $100,000 in Louisville.

How Much Do Entry Level Software Developers Get Paid?

If you are an entry or junior level developer you can expect $60,000 – $80,000 depending on your geographical location (you can expect more in the Bay Area or New York areas or any other major tech city). While this is low for the software engineering field, but it’s higher than most average salaries in The United States.

How Much Do Mid Level Software Developers Get Paid?

At this level you are starting to see the six figure range going from 100k – 120k. Once again this will widely depend on geographical location.

How Much Do Senior Level Developers Get Paid?

This is where the money starts rolling in. At this point total compensation can reach $300,000 plus! Me personally as a business owner I charge $150 per hour when working on Laravel and Vue.js projects. This is where most engineers will cap if they do nothing else but fulltime/client work.

What About Beyond Senior Level?

When I say beyond senior level I am talking entrepreneurship. Think writing your own monetized apps or creating Udemy courses. This residual income is usually combined with some active work like a 9-5. This scalability can allow a software developer to make 10s – 100s of thousands extra a year if executed correctly.

Conclusion

If you decide to go down the route of becoming a software developer, then money ultimately should not be an issue. If you want quality content on software and entrepreneur best practices, follow me on Twitter. If you want to get started with some quality courses I suggest heading over to my store and purchasing a video series!