Also called: Software Engineer, SWE, Programmer
Designs, writes, tests, and maintains the programs that run on computers, phones, cars, and servers.
Morning stand-up with the team, then a few hours building a new feature, now often by steering an AI coding assistant and carefully reviewing what it writes. After lunch you review a teammate's code, chase down a bug a customer reported, and write tests so it never happens again.
May 2025 BLS median $135,980. Big-tech total pay (with stock) can run far higher.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Usually a bachelor's in computer science or a related field; some get in through bootcamps, apprenticeships, or a strong self-taught portfolio.
Ways in: 4-year college, Self-taught, Certification, Apprenticeship. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Computer Science, Software Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mathematics.
Growing much faster than average (about 10% over 10 years). BLS 2025-35 projects 10% growth for developers, QA analysts and testers combined; entry-level hiring has been tight since 2023 as AI tools raise productivity.
Medium risk for 10 years. AI coding agents write and test much routine code, so fewer junior hires; designing systems and owning outcomes stay human.
Classes: AP Computer Science A, AP Calculus, Physics, AP CS Principles.
Official data: O*NET occupation 15-1252.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.