4 answers
Sairam
Student
Providence, Rhode Island
9
Questions
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I am interested in programmar
What is the maximum salary in this profession #engineering #programmer #experts
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4 answers
Taylor Zhao
Program Manager
144
Answers
Seattle, Washington
Updated
Taylor’s Answer
Hey Sairam!
Software engineers make quite good money. You can find the pay range here:
http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Software_Engineer/Salary
It also varies on the position, company, and location. Good luck!
Software engineers make quite good money. You can find the pay range here:
http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Software_Engineer/Salary
It also varies on the position, company, and location. Good luck!
John Rooney
Consultant
56
Answers
Denver, Colorado
Updated
John’s Answer
It's hard to give an exact answer for a question like this. There are so many factors like the current job market, country/city you live in, but knowing that you want to be a programmer is a great start! If you didn't know, there are many jobs you can work as a programmer from writing software, to writing websites. I would suggest using a site like Glassdoor (https://www.glassdoor.com/index.htm). Sites like Glassdoor are basically an anonymous form of social media for professionals to discuss salaries and the workplace environment. Talking to someone who works as a programmer or doing a job shadow would also be a good way to get more information.
Visit Glassdoor! (https://www.glassdoor.com/index.htm)
Search for your desired job; in this case, "programmer ".
Read about other programmer's experiences and see salary ranges.
John recommends the following next steps:
Naseer Syed
Engineering Manager
4
Answers
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Updated
Naseer’s Answer
Get into a profession because you are passionate about it and enjoy working in that domain, rather than the "maximum salary" you can expect to get.
Your passion for that profession would help you excel and stand out among the crowd. This would in turn automatically translate to more value and the associated financial benefits.
On the other hand, if you get in just because of the salary, there will be passionate folks there who will easily and consistently outperform you and you wont be able to get into the "maximum" bracket. You potentially run the risk of being sidelined and laid off.
Your passion for that profession would help you excel and stand out among the crowd. This would in turn automatically translate to more value and the associated financial benefits.
On the other hand, if you get in just because of the salary, there will be passionate folks there who will easily and consistently outperform you and you wont be able to get into the "maximum" bracket. You potentially run the risk of being sidelined and laid off.
David Christiansen
Software Development
1
Answer
Provo, Utah
Updated
David’s Answer
Hi Sairam. The range of pay for programmers varies widely depending on where you want to work and what sort of programming you do. That said, in the United States a software engineer should generally start in the $70k - $80k range. The maximum you can earn as a programmer also varies widely. Extremely talented "super geek" programmers can earn massive salaries ($400k +) at places like Google, Facebook, etc. For more "normal" programmers, the maximum salary depends on whether or not you decide to go into management or architecture as you get experience.
Managers have other programmers who report to them and will generally spend their time helping them develop their skills, managing projects, etc. This type of position is for people who want to "climb the ladder" and advance in power and authority in a company. The top position for this path is usually CTO, or Chief Technical Officer. A CTO can make anywhere from $200k to millions, depending on the size of the company.
Architects, on the other hand, tell other people how to build software. They work on big problems, like how systems interact. They don't necessarily write a lot of code, and they end up dealing with a lot of negotiation between organizations as they try to get them to work together for a common goal. Architects can also become CTOs and have a similar salary range.
Some programmers just want to write code. The advancement path for this type of programmer usually goes something like this: Associate Engineer -> Engineer -> Senior Engineer -> Principal Engineer. Principal Engineer is considered a "terminal" position. Once you get to this level you won't get any more promotions (in general) unless you become a manager or an architect. This is a very happy place to be for someone who really loves writing code and isn't interested in telling people what to do. A principal engineer can earn anywhere from $150k - $250k, depending on where they work, what skills they have, and where they live.
I hope this helps.
Dave
Managers have other programmers who report to them and will generally spend their time helping them develop their skills, managing projects, etc. This type of position is for people who want to "climb the ladder" and advance in power and authority in a company. The top position for this path is usually CTO, or Chief Technical Officer. A CTO can make anywhere from $200k to millions, depending on the size of the company.
Architects, on the other hand, tell other people how to build software. They work on big problems, like how systems interact. They don't necessarily write a lot of code, and they end up dealing with a lot of negotiation between organizations as they try to get them to work together for a common goal. Architects can also become CTOs and have a similar salary range.
Some programmers just want to write code. The advancement path for this type of programmer usually goes something like this: Associate Engineer -> Engineer -> Senior Engineer -> Principal Engineer. Principal Engineer is considered a "terminal" position. Once you get to this level you won't get any more promotions (in general) unless you become a manager or an architect. This is a very happy place to be for someone who really loves writing code and isn't interested in telling people what to do. A principal engineer can earn anywhere from $150k - $250k, depending on where they work, what skills they have, and where they live.
I hope this helps.
Dave