Survey Programmer

Builds online surveys with skip logic, randomization, and quality checks.

A day in the life

Codes a 60-question survey so people only see questions that apply to them, tests every path, and fixes bugs before launch.

Pay over a career

Starting

$50k

Typical

$70k

High

$95k

Estimate.

Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.

Training

Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Bachelor's; programming skills; some self-taught.

Ways in: 4-year college, Self-taught. Training cost: Under $15k.

Majors to look at: Computer Science, Statistics.

Outlook

Growing slowly (about 0% over 10 years). Estimate.

Will it last? Our AI estimate

High risk for 10 years. AI can now generate survey code with skip logic and test paths; few dedicated programmer jobs will remain.

Start now, in high school

Classes: AP Computer Science, Statistics, Computer applications.

• Learn JavaScript or Python on Codecademy
• Build a branching survey in Qualtrics or Google Forms
• Join a coding club

Official data: O*NET occupation 15-1251.

More Survey Research, Polling & Demography careers

• Survey Researcher
• Pollster / Public Opinion Researcher
• Survey Methodologist
• Demographer
• Mathematical Statistician (Census/BLS)
• Data Journalist / Election Forecaster
• Market Research Analyst
• Quantitative UX Researcher
• People Analytics Analyst
• Focus Group Moderator
• Social Science Data Analyst
• Telephone Survey Interviewer
• Research Participant Recruiter
• Mystery Shopper / Field Auditor
• Sampling Statistician
• Survey Research Director
• Survey Field Supervisor
• Exit Poll Interviewer
• Survey Data Coder

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.