How to earn money from software and technology free | How to get paid from software and technology
Hello
Software engineers make a lot of money because they have an in-demand skill set, offer exceptional value to output for a business, and the job itself is tough. The rise in technology has meant software engineers are needed more than ever and there simply isn’t enough to fill all the gaps.
This trend is likely to increase into the foreseeable future as technology continues to adapt and progress. A new generation of engineers will need to be trained to work with systems that haven’t been invented yet.
Why are software engineer salaries so high?
Software engineer salaries are so high because of supply and demand. There are not enough developers to meet demand in the industry so good developers are paid an absolute premium. Technology is also constantly changing and it requires immense effort to keep your skills up to date.
In 2000, the average software developer made $49,505 which was slightly higher than the national average of $42,148. However, the tech boom of the past two decades has meant these numbers look vastly different.
According to Indeed, the job finding platform, the software engineers now make $114,576 per year with a $4000 cash bonus per year. That is a 131% increase.
In contrast, the average salary for ordinary Americans has increased to just $56,310 which is a 34% increase. There is an enormous disparity in the wage changes for software engineers and the general public. It has meant software engineers can retire slightly earlier than most Americans.
The above facts and figures don’t provide us with a reason, so let’s take a look at why developers make so much.
Supply and demand
The number one reason for software engineers making so much is that supply does not meet demand. Companies are crying out for competent developers to help streamline and automate their processes. However, despite many young people now going to college to study computer science the demand far outstrips supply.
It means that the ball is firmly in the developer’s court when it comes to salary negotiations, especially in big cities. If companies aren’t willing to front up a good enough pay package, it’s easy to get a job somewhere else.
The demand is only set to increase as more and more companies try to distinguish themselves online. From an operations perspective, everyone is trying to automate repetitive processes so the people who can make this happen are always going to be in high demand.
Business needs
For a lot of businesses, their tech department is fast becoming the single most important team in the company. If services are down or things aren’t working correctly it can cost companies a small fortune. It’s reported that the Facebook outage which lasted around 6 hours cost the company $60 million, which is based on their 2020 revenue of $85.97 billion. Software engineers are making a lot of money because they prevent issues like this from happening and essentially allow things to operate properly.
When a service goes down people also flood to social media to spread the news. You will often hear about these things on Twitter before you mainstream news. These outages are incredibly damaging to a brand so companies avoid them at all costs. So paying programmers a lot of money is just one way to incentive against these types of things happening.
Changing technology
With most trades or careers, you learn a set of skills that you use daily for the entirety of your career. However, software engineering is slightly different. Learning how to code is just the first step on a lengthy journey, you never truly stop learning.
Technology changes so often that the development landscape is always shifting. It means developers constantly need to improve and upskills to stay relevant. You also have to be highly adaptable. These traits and the willingness to continue learning come at a premium and are part of the reason programmers make so much money.
Of course, professional development and learning are required as you progress in any role. But with development, it is taken to a whole new level and is one of the reasons why people think there is an age limit to software engineering.
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