4 Coding Careers and Their Annual Salaries

Computers are here to stay. Most of our world can’t run without them — including household appliances — and in order for things like your car to drive, planes to navigate, televisions to play your favorite show, or grandmas’ dinner to not burn in the oven, the world needs coders.

What you may not know is that between the steadily increasing demand for employees in this sector and competitive salaries, you may be overlooking a very stable career path.

As with any subject matter there is a variety of nuanced fields which all relate to the main topic, but the differentiations between those roles is dependent on the type of knowledge and experience gained. Here is a breakdown of some major sectors in the coding business world and the average salaries that accompany those positions.

1) Software Developers

Software developers create a broad range of tools generally meant to enhance functionality of mobile, desktop, and operating systems for customer usability. They accomplish this by creating and testing the programs that become the client-facing web pages and applications the public use every day.

In order to do this, they employ a host of problem solving skills all while translating solutions into program languages, “code”, which serve as the directions for those mobile and desktop applications.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), “the median annual wage for software developers was $120,730 in May of 2021.” Starting wages for such positions are around $90,000 annually.

2) Database Administration

Data administrators do a little bit of everything. They need to monitor, manage, and manipulate code in ways that allow for companies or programs to interact with each other. These professionals seek to make sure the software is complete and working properly. They also strive to prevent data loss, and make any necessary changes when flaws are found in a system.

Before you make a commitment to career in coding, While there is a much broader spectrum of salaries to this position — $63,000 on the low end, $125,000 on the top end — U.S News found that a median annual salary for Database Administrators is around $96,000.

3) Data Scientists

Data Scientists have the responsibility of formulating systems which perform detailed analytics of massive amounts of data. By building machines and software which engage with users and systems, they seek to learn from that gathered information. The infrastructure that data scientists create are crucial to understanding how people and software interact with each other.

Salary.com shows the average salary for Data Scientists as $139,631, with a range of $124,400 to $153,880 per year.

4)  Web Developer

Web development (similar to web design) is the production of the underlying code which directs the actions of websites. They are the front-facing, interactive pages that people engage with anytime they visit a website. High demands from large and small business owners over the years have seen a rise in the need and availability of work for companies and as freelancers. Generally providing design, formatting, and troubleshooting, web developers attend to a broad range of responsibilities.

This is another job with a significant salary range — around $43,000 starting, $91,000 for more experienced work — but still a very steady median range. Payscale.com lists web development positions at around $62,000 annually.  Full stack developers tend to earn a lot more, from around $99,000 to start up to $150,000 for the most experienced workers.  This is because these developers possess both front and back end skills. Therefore, companies only need to hire one person, as opposed to getting two people who are only equipped to do one or the other job.

Next Steps

In order to save you some time, and the annoyance of sorting through thousands of websites and opinions about what coding is, here is a solid survey of the different job positions and what their salaries are.

What should also be noted about this sector of the tech industry is the emergent demand for women in fields traditionally held by men. The intentional diversification of teams has created a host of opportunities and incentives for women, such as scholarships, with the goal of encouraging the betterment of society and closing the gender gap.

Today, nearly every school in our country has an emphasis on STEM subjects. The growing demand of accessibility to STEM activities has created plenty of programs and clubs to join in or out of school rooms. If, however, a club or classroom setting is not what you respond to, there are also coding games (yes, you heard me right) designed to simultaneously engage and teach principles of coding. Each provides the opportunities to try out the subject matter needed to pursue an education or career in coding.

• Read 7 things to consider before joining online coding classes
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