Skip to content
TryHired.
Role hub · Software Developers

Software Engineer: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.

The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.

Maid DizdarevicCareer coach · 8x LinkedIn Top Voice
Updated Oct 24, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025 · O*NET 31.0
Pay ladder · select a percentile
Median percentile pay

Half of software engineers earn more than this and half earn less.

Annual
$135,980
Hourly
$65.38
Source
BLS May 2025
Quick answer

Software Engineers research, design, and develop computer and network software or specialized utility programs. The median pay is $135,980 a year ($65.38 an hour) (BLS, May 2025). The most commonly reported education requirement is a bachelor's degree (85% of workers surveyed by O*NET).

Median pay
$135,980
BLS May 2025
Employed in the U.S.
1,687,890
BLS May 2025
Preparation
Job Zone 4 of 5
considerable preparation
Most common education
Bachelor's Degree
85% of workers

Data Government data groups this job as Software Developers (O*NET-SOC 15-1252.00). Figures on this page are for that occupation.

Explore the role

Every page for Software Engineers

SalarySoftware Engineer salary

Pay by percentile, state and metro, with a negotiation script.

Open →How to becomeSoftware Engineer how to become

Education, training and the skills to build first.

Open →ResumeSoftware Engineer resume

Keywords, bullet formulas and the skills to prove.

Open →Interview questionsSoftware Engineer interview questions

Questions with what they test, plus practice mode.

Open →Free toolCheck your resume

Parsed text, evidence per bullet, fixes first.

Open →
The work

What software engineers do day to day

Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).

  1. Analyze user needs and software requirements to determine feasibility of design within time and cost constraints.
  2. Develop or direct software system testing or validation procedures, programming, or documentation.
  3. Confer with systems analysts, engineers, programmers and others to design systems and to obtain information on project limitations and capabilities, performance requirements and interfaces.
  4. Modify existing software to correct errors, adapt it to new hardware, or upgrade interfaces and improve performance.
  5. Prepare reports or correspondence concerning project specifications, activities, or status.
  6. Analyze information to determine, recommend, and plan installation of a new system or modification of an existing system.
  7. Store, retrieve, and manipulate data for analysis of system capabilities and requirements.
  8. Design, develop and modify software systems, using scientific analysis and mathematical models to predict and measure outcomes and consequences of design.
Skills that matter

Ranked by importance to the job

Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.

ProgrammingcoreCritical ThinkingcoreJudgment and Decision MakingcoreSystems AnalysisReading ComprehensionActive LearningComplex Problem SolvingTechnology DesignSystems Evaluation

Knowledge areas: Computers and Electronics, Mathematics, Customer and Personal Service, English Language.

Tools and technology

Software software engineers use

Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.

  • Atlassian JIRAContent workflow softwareIn demand
  • DockerApplication server softwareIn demand
  • GitFile versioning softwareIn demand
  • GitHubApplication server softwareIn demand
  • IBM TerraformConfiguration management softwareIn demand
  • Jenkins CIEnterprise application integration softwareIn demand
  • KubernetesApplication server softwareIn demand
  • NoSQLData base management system softwareIn demand
  • PostgreSQLObject oriented data base management softwareIn demand
  • Spring BootApplication server softwareIn demand
  • Adobe After EffectsVideo creation and editing softwareHot technology
  • Adobe Creative Cloud softwareGraphics or photo imaging softwareHot technology

Also called: Software Developer, Application Developer, Application Integration Engineer, Developer, DevOps Engineer (Development Operations Engineer), Infrastructure Engineer, Software Architect.

Method

How this page is built

Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the correlation between the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level, subtract the average across all occupations, and correlate the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 or below means unrelated. Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.

What this page can't tell you
  • How a specific employer defines the job.
  • Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
  • Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
Sources
  1. O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
  2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).