https://codesubmit.io/blog/the-evolution-of-developer-salaries/#tracing-developer-salaries-in-america-from-2001-to-2019 CodeSubmit The Evolution of Developer Salaries: Looking Back 20 Years Start free trial Industry Research The Evolution of Developer Salaries: Looking Back 20 Years Much has been covered about developer salaries based on coding language, location, job title, and so on. But little has been done to chart the rise and fall of developer salaries over the years - until now. * Nicole Kow Nicole Kow Nicole is a B2B marketer and aspiring travel writer from Malaysia, working and travelling for over 5 years. Previously in travel tech, she now works with startups and VCs around the world. More posts by Nicole Kow. Nicole Kow Nicole Kow 11 Feb 2021 * 7 min read Much has been covered about developer salaries based on coding language, location, job title, and so on. However, little has been done to chart the rise and fall of developer salaries over the years. Tracing developer salaries over the last 20 years was an interesting endeavor. Researching the topic meant changing the language I used to search for data. Back in the early 2000s, tech and software were referred to as "Information Technology" (IT) or "Information and Communications Technology" (ICT), developers were still referred to as "IT workers" and little was mentioned about the many specialized roles we have today. To go back in time, I mainly referred to data published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics as they offered the most comprehensive year on year data. I looked at data from alternate years, from 2001 to 2019. Starting in the year 2000 At the turn of the century, CNN Money reported that the average starting salary for an entry-level computer programmer was $40,800. Fresh graduates were also paid differently based on the degrees they held: * Computer engineering: $49,505 * Computer science: $48,740 * Information science: $38,900 * Management information systems: $41,800 Due to the shortage of skilled workers going into tech fields, salaries in America for IT graduates became more and more competitive. Salaries in 2000 were already 10% higher than the previous year and, apart from information science majors, were well above the national average starting salary of $39,824. [cs-grads-2]The "IT Industry" looked different in 2000 than it does today The following table shows the average annual salary for developers, programmers, and other IT-related job functions, across all industries in the year 2000: Annual mean Annual median ($) ($) Computer & Information Scientists, 73,430 70,590 Researchers Programmers 60,970 57,590 Software Engineers - Applications 70,300 67,670 Software Engineers - Systems Software 70,890 69,530 Computer Support Specialists 39,680 36,460 Database Administrators 55,810 51,990 Tracing developer salaries in America from 2001 to 2019 From 2001 to 2011 The graph below shows the annual median and mean salary from 2001 to 2011. These are the relevant job functions I examined, based on the data available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics: * Computer and information scientists * Programmers * Software engineers - Applications * Software engineers - Systems software * Database administrators What is immediately noticeable is the huge difference between the median and mean salaries for various job functions across all industries, indicating a large difference in salaries for IT workers across the different sectors. [annual-med]Annual median salary across all industries for developers, 2001-2011[annual-mea]Annual mean salary across all industries for developers, 2001-2011 In the first decade alone, Americans experienced two huge economic crises, sending rippling effects throughout the American and global labor market. 2001 was the year the dot-com bubble burst. That year, while wages did not fall despite the dot-com burst, around 400,000 Americans working in IT-related roles lost their jobs going into 2001. 2008 was when the stock market crashed. Similar to the dot-com burst in 2001, wages in 2008 remained relatively unchanged. However, roughly 111,000 Americans working in IT-related fields lost their jobs going into 2009. 2008 was also the year when wages began to increase at a slower rate compared to previous years. While individuals enjoyed an average of $5,000 increase every two years previously, after 2008, wages only increased by $2,000 every two years. Generally speaking, from 2001 to 2011, individuals working in tech had at least a 21% increase in wages over time. Systems Software Engineers experienced the largest jump in wages, an increase of 35%. Average salary increase from 2001-2011: 2001 2011 Increase % ($) ($) ($) Change Computer Software Engineers - 74,490 100,420 25,930 +35% Systems Software Computer and Information Scientists 76,970 103,160 26,190 +34% Database Administrators 58,420 77,350 18,930 +32% Computer Software Engineers - 72,370 92,080 19,710 +27% Applications Computer Programmers 62,890 76,010 13,220 +21% From 2013 to 2019 From 2013 onwards, the Bureau of Labor Statistics changed how it categorized tech-related job functions. It added more job functions to the Computing category, mirroring how the profession had evolved since the early 2000s. In light of this, I analyzed the broad job function groups available, rather than diving into specific job functions, to get a comprehensive overview of salaries. Below are median and mean wages for the following job function groups: * Computer and information research scientists * Computer and information analysts * Software developers and programmers (2019 data included Software Quality Assurance to this group) * Database and systems administrators and network architects * Computer support specialists [annual-med]Annual median salary across all industries for developers, 2013-2019[annual-mea]Annual mean salary across all industries for developers, 2013-2019 In 2013, the national American wage for graduates was $45,327. Workers in tech continue to earn well above the national average. Similar to the previous period, computer and information researchers continued to earn the most out of the group. In 2019, the average annual income for computer scientists was $127,460, 19% ahead of software developers, and programmers. Fewer "programmers", more "developers" When analyzing salaries, it is also important to look at the employment numbers for job functions to get an indication of the supply and demand for specific skills in the labor market. Computer programmers Year Total employed Annual mean ($) 2001 501,550 62,890 2003 431,640 64,510 2005 389,090 67,400 2007 394,710 72,010 2009 367,880 74,690 2011 320,100 76,010 2013 312,340 80,930 2015 289,420 84,360 2017 247,690 87,530 2019 199,540 92,610 In 20 years, we can see a 60% drop in the number of people employed for computer programming roles in America. Annual wages, on the other hand, increased by 47% in the same period. Software developers In this section, I removed 2019 data as I was unable to separate developer functions, whether they specialized in applications or systems. Applications Developers: Year Total employed Annual mean ($) 2001 361,690 72,370 2003 392,140 75,750 2005 455,980 79,540 2007 495,810 85,660 2009 495,500 90,170 2011 539,880 92,080 2013 643,830 96,260 2015 747,730 102,160 2017 849,230 106,710 The number of software developers hired to work on applications has increased by 135% from 2001 to 2017. Annual salaries increased by 47% in that period. Systems developers: Year Total employed Annual mean ($) 2001 261,520 74,490 2003 285,760 78,400 2005 320,720 84,310 2007 349,140 90,780 2009 385,200 96,620 2011 387,050 100,420 2013 373,510 104,480 2015 390,750 108,760 2017 394,590 111,780 Systems developers increased by only 50% in the same period, with average wages increasing by 50% as well. Web developers: Year Total employed Annual mean ($) 2013 112,820 67,540 2015 127,070 70,660 2017 125,890 74,110 2019 148,340 82,370 For web developers, we can see that the total number of employed professionals increased by 31% in just seven years. The average wages for this job function also increased by 21%. Are developer wages stagnating? Looking at the data, we can see that developer salaries are not increasing at the rate they used to. As we head into 2013 through to 2019, the annual mean salary for developers and programmers increased from $92,820 to $106,980, a mere 15% increase compared to the whopping 21% increase experienced in the previous decade. Average salary increase from 2013-2019: 2013 2019 Increase % ($) ($) ($) Change Computer and Information Research 109,260 127,460 18,200 +17% Scientists Computer and Information Analysts 86,100 97,570 11,470 +13% Software Developers and Programmers 92,820 106,980 14,160 +15% Systems Administrators and Network 82,960 96,380 13,420 +16% Architects Computer Support Specialists 53,660 59,290 5,630 +10% One of the reasons for the slower rate of increase is that the data does not show wages based on seniority and experience. Today, there are more entry-level and junior roles available compared to the early 2000s, and there are more people able to fill those roles. Interestingly, in 2015, Stack Overflow reported that 42% of developers indicated they were self-taught while in 2019, 63% of developers said they majored in computer science, computer engineering, or software engineering, with 86% of respondents reporting to have taught themselves a new language, framework or tool without taking a formal course. Another survey by Dice reported that while wages have dropped for developers with less than two years experience, salaries pick up after the three-year mark. Much like other jobs, developer salaries increase with more experience they accumulate. Years of Technical Experience 2018 2019 % Change Less than 1 year $57,541 $55,231 -4.00% 1 - 2 years $58,755 $58,718 -0.10% 3 - 5 years $69,671 $74,706 7.20% 6 - 10 years $82,094 $85,927 4.70% 11 - 15 years $96,421 $99,138 2.80% More than 15 years $113,503 $114,915 1.20% What to expect in the future In the years to come, industry experts expect low-level coding and programming jobs to become obsolete with the development of new tools that remove the need to code completely. Take for example the role of Web Developers when it comes to building websites. With popular CMS tools like WordPress and Squarespace, almost anyone can build a website for their business, reducing the need for people who know "just a little bit of front end web development". As automation takes away the need for "basic" coding jobs, new skills or a combination of skills will be needed in the future for roles that don't even exist yet. The need for field experts and true problem solvers will never disappear. 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