Software Engineer Career Path 2024: Overview, Jobs, and Pay

Nearly every modern business relies on applications and software to manage data and daily operations. As a result, the field of software engineering is vast. You’ll encounter many different job titles and expertise levels that vary depending on the industry and the programming languages you learn. In the following article, you can explore a common software engineer career path, plus specialized fields you can pursue after an entry-level role.

Software engineer education requirements

According to Zippia, 73 percent of software engineers have a bachelor’s degree, 20 percent have a master’s degree, and 4 percent have an associate degree [1]. The most common degrees for software engineers to pursue include computer science, information technology (IT), electrical engineering, or computer engineering. Although a college degree can be an excellent way to begin your career, try not to feel discouraged if it’s not in your plans.

Read more: How to Become a Software Developer (With or Without a Degree)

Alternative options to degrees

The 2023 State of Skills-Based Hiring Report by TestGorilla reports that 70 percent of companies chose to adopt skills-based hiring practices last year [2]. Additionally, 45 percent of hiring organizations on LinkedIn relied on skills data to fill open roles in the past year, up 12 percent from the previous year, according to LinkedIn’s 2023 Skills-First report [3].

If you're trying to break into the field of software engineering but you're not studying for a degree, you might consider building your experience with online courses and projects and earning certificates or certifications. For example, you can gain the skills you need for an entry-level role by completing the Amazon Junior Software Developer Professional Certificate program:

Read more: 5 Tech Entry-Level Jobs in 2024: No Experience Required

Software engineer career path

Entry-level software engineer positions

Entry-level positions require the least technical knowledge and experience, typically 0-1 year. Most early career professionals and recent graduates begin in an entry-level role. Examples of entry-level software engineer jobs include:

• Entry-level software engineer. Many job postings for engineering roles that require fewer skills or less experience will be listed under entry-level or, sometimes, junior software engineer. Generally, these roles require you to work with a team of other engineers, designers, and developers. You’ll take direction from more senior engineers and assist with bug fixes, testing, troubleshooting, and writing code. 

• Technical support specialist. Technical support specialists are sometimes referred to as help desk technicians. They are responsible for helping users set up, maintain, navigate, and troubleshoot hardware and software. Users may be internal members of the organization or customers. Technical support specialists often train users in cybersecurity measures and maintain documentation of issues. This can be a good starting role for someone who does not yet have experience in the tech field.

Read more: The Job Seeker’s Guide to Entry-Level Software Engineer Jobs

Average salary for entry-level software engineers

Glassdoor reports an average base pay range of $76,000-127,000 per year for entry-level software engineers in the US as of October 2024 [4]. Salaries are influenced by factors like location, company, industry, and experience level.

Required skills for entry-level software engineers

• Knowledge of programming languages such as Python, Java, or C++

• Familiarity with version control

• Ability to test and troubleshoot software

• Strong problem-solving skills

Read more: What Programming Language Should I Learn?

Junior software engineer jobs

Junior-level software engineering roles usually require 1-3 years of experience. As a junior software engineer, you'll likely work more closely with senior engineers.

You may work independently or with less supervision to write new code, test and troubleshoot existing code, and fix bugs. Independent work can be a significant part of software engineering, so workplace skills (sometimes referred to as "soft skills") like analytical thinking and problem-solving are crucial. Examples of job titles for intermediate or junior engineers include:

• Junior software engineer. Although some entry-level engineering positions may also be listed under the same title, many junior software engineer roles require between 1 and 3 years of experience. Similar to entry-level roles, you’ll spend time supporting the design and engineering teams. Your responsibilities will be more complex, require you to be familiar with specific technologies, or include less guidance than an entry-level role. 

• Quality assurance tester. A quality assurance tester or QA tester is responsible for ensuring that faulty or buggy software products don’t make their way to the consumer. They play an integral role in the software development life cycle (SDLC), evaluating the efficiency of code by conducting tests to measure its performance, functionality, and integration with other components.

• React developer. A React developer is a software engineer who specializes in the open-source JavaScript library React. As a junior engineer, you may start working closely with a specific tool, platform, or language. This popular toolkit for web developers is often used in UI/UX Design and front-end development.

• Front-end developer. A front-end developer is a software engineer who specializes in building the parts of a website or application that users see. They work with front-end development languages and tools such as JavaScript, HTML, and CSS.

Read more: Most Popular Programming Languages in 2024

Average salary for junior-level software engineers

Glassdoor reports an average base pay range of $86,000-142,000 per year for junior-level software engineers in the US as of October 2024 [4]. Salaries are influenced by factors like location, company, industry, and the tools, programming languages, and platforms you're fluent in.

Required skills for junior-level software engineers

• Familiarity with vendor-specific tools, platforms, and services such as Kubernetes, React Native, or Oracle 

• Understanding of database architecture and data structures and algorithms

• Knowledge of operating systems (OS)

• Familiarity with software engineering methodologies such as Agile and DevOps 

• Understanding of object-oriented programming principles

Tip:

Required technologies can depend on the industry you want to work in, so consider researching job titles to get an idea of which tools are most commonly used.

Mid-level software engineering roles

Mid-level or intermediate software engineers have 4-6 years of experience. These roles can be more specialized, requiring experience with certain types of tasks and tools.

As an experienced software engineer, you’re likely to assist with feature development throughout the entirety of the software development life cycle (SDLC). You might work with the team to define the specifications of a project, participate in deployment, and review code for your peers or less experienced engineers on your team. Examples of mid-level software engineer positions include:

• Mid-level software engineer. Job postings for mid-level or intermediate software engineers may be listed under levels such as "software engineer III" or "engineer 3." They typically request four to six years of experience. Sometimes, these years can be divided into categories. For example, you may need only two years of experience with a specific programming language like Java, but four years of experience with cloud computing. You may be required to take on team leadership roles or come up with suggestions for improving performance and quality in regard to both the product and internal processes.

• Systems engineer. Systems engineers are responsible for managing the systems related to software engineering products and processes as a whole. Core aspects of systems engineering include hardware installation, network troubleshooting, cross-functional team collaboration, and system security. 

• AI Engineer. An AI developer is a software engineer with specialized training working with and developing artificial intelligence tools. AI skills have grown in demand over the last couple of years, making it an excellent time to enter the field. Once you've built the foundational knowledge you need to become a software engineer, you can consider studying data science and machine learning to become an AI developer or engineer.

Read more: What Is an AI Engineer? (And How to Become One)

Average salary for mid-level software engineers

Glassdoor reports an average base pay range of $94,000-156,000 per year for mid-level software engineers in the US as of October 2024 [4]. Salaries are influenced by factors like location, company, industry, and specialization.

Required skills for mid-level software engineers

• Strong understanding of software engineering methodologies and processes such as DevOps

• Familiarity with vendor-specific software, platforms, tools, and operating systems such as Azure, Windows Server platforms, RESTful APIs, or Linux

• Ability to execute and document software research and development (R&D) independently and with a team 

• Ability to meaningfully participate in planning for development sprints and releases

• Collaboration skills to ensure design team specifications can be seamlessly technically implemented by the development team

• Familiarity with process and testing automation

Senior software engineer roles

Software engineers with 7+ years of experience are considered to be senior or advanced-level. Often, these roles require leadership or managerial responsibilities. Certifications or security clearances may also be required for these roles.

As a senior software engineer, you’re likely to own entire projects or sub-projects, meaning you’re responsible for overseeing the entire development process, from planning to release to continued maintenance. Senior engineers also often provide mentorship or guidance to junior or entry-level engineers. Examples of senior engineering positions include:

• Senior software engineer. Many advanced-level engineering roles will be listed under the senior software engineer job title. Some include levels such as "senior engineer (L2)" or "senior software engineer II." In addition to the common responsibilities that software engineers of all levels share, senior engineers may also establish deadlines for projects, meet with stakeholders to determine technical requirements, and handle documentation of best practices for troubleshooting and specifications. They must have excellent communication skills to effectively explain aspects of projects to people with varying levels of technical expertise. 

• Controls engineer. Controls engineers are sometimes referred to as control systems engineers. They design and optimize the set of devices that determines the behavior of systems, such as computers and machinery. These roles are more heavily involved with hardware, although software configuration and development are key aspects of a control system. 

• Project engineer. An engineering project manager or project engineer is a leadership role for professionals with extensive technical expertise. They handle all aspects of technical product development from conception to deployment, managing cross-functional teams, engineers, and stakeholders.

Read more: How Do I Become a Project Engineer? A Career Overview

Average salary for senior software engineers

Glassdoor reports an average base pay range of $102,000-169,000 per year for senior software engineers in the US as of October 2024 [4]. Salaries are influenced by factors like location, company, industry, experience, and specialization.

Required skills for senior software engineers

• Strong understanding of risk management and established technology standards, procedures, and protocols

• Ability to delegate tasks and manage software projects end-to-end

• Experience with microservice architecture and tools

• Strong understanding of methodologies such as DevOps, Agile, test-driven-development (TTD), Scrum, and Behavior-driven-development (BDD), Continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD).

• Proficient in solutions design and development

5 industries and specializations for software engineers

As you advance past entry-level and junior engineering roles, you may notice that job postings become more specialized. They may request experience in a broad area of expertise, such as cloud computing, or with specific tools, such as SQL. Once you’ve mastered the foundational software engineering skill set, you may benefit from choosing a specialization to pursue. The list below includes five examples. 

1. Data

Data engineers design and develop systems and frameworks to analyze data. Commonly used coding languages among data engineers include SQL, Python, Java, and Scala. They are well-versed in database architecture, automation, scripting, and cloud computing. 

Read more: Learning Data Engineer Skills: Career Paths and Courses

2. FinTech

FinTech is a short name used to describe the financial technology industry. Job postings for software engineers in this industry often request knowledge of JavaScript, HTML, CSS, data integration techniques, and virtualization technologies. One example of a job title in this field is a blockchain developer. Blockchain developers develop and maintain the architecture of blockchain technologies. Some focus on building applications for existing blockchain platforms. 

Read more: What is a Blockchain Developer (and How Do I Become One?)

3. Gaming

If you’re a software engineer who loves video games, you might consider pursuing a career in the game industry. Video game developers translate ideas, stories, and designs into playable software. Relevant tools and languages for game developers to familiarize themselves with include C#, C++, Unreal Engine, and Unity. Artificial intelligence (AI) skills are also highly valuable in this field. 

Read more: What is a Game Developer? (and How Do I Become One?)

4. Systems engineering

Those who are interested in how devices work together to power computer systems may enjoy a career in systems engineering.

Solutions architect is an example of a job title in this field. They focus on translating an organization’s needs into technical solutions. They are leaders who plan, organize, and communicate technical projects to solve problems. Solutions architects also have a strong understanding of software development processes, tools, and technologies. Experience with network administration, IT, and information systems (IS) can be highly beneficial for this role. 

Read more: What is a Solutions Architect (and How Do I Become One?)

5. Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity can be an exciting field for software engineers. You might work as a penetration tester, performing simulated cyberattacks to help organizations identify weak points in their defenses. Or, you could become a cybersecurity engineer, designing and implementing security measures to protect sensitive information from cyber threats. Cybersecurity engineers must be able to write secure code in languages like Python, C++, Ruby, and Bash. Network security is a core competency, as you’ll work with firewalls, encryption technologies, and virtual private networks (VPNs). 

Read more: What is a Security Engineer? 2023 Career Guide

Advance your career in software engineering with Coursera

If you’re new to the field of software engineering, consider honing your technical skills and enhancing your resume by earning a certificate from a tech leader, like the Amazon Junior Developer Professional Certificate, in which you'll build foundational skills and get hands-on practice with industry-standard tools.

If you're already a software engineer and you're looking to enhance your resume or bolster your experience, consider sharpening in-demand skills like generative AI by enrolling in the Generative AI for Software Developers Specialization, in which you'll learn AI tools and techniques for writing powerful prompts and optimizing your workflow.