Technology in terms you understand. Sign up for the Confident Computing newsletter for weekly solutions to make your life easier. Click here and get The Ask Leo! Guide to Staying Safe on the Internet — FREE Edition as my thank you for subscribing!

How much does a computer programmer earn?

Question:

How much does a computer programmer earn? I plan on going on into a career
into computer programmer and would like to know the minimum and maximum salary
considering that you have a university degree.

In this excerpt from
Answercast #28
, I look at the wide range of salaries for computer
programmers and the many factors leading into it.

]]>

Programmer’s salary

There is no answer to this question. Or rather, there are as many answers to this question as there are programmers and as there are locations on the planet in which to program.

Salaries in one country will be dramatically different from salaries in another. Salaries may be close to minimum wage in some places. Salaries may be exorbitantly high in another place.

Wage factors

Salaries will depend on:

  • Your level of experience

  • Your level of competence

  • The budget available at the companies where you’re considering getting hired

  • Just how good you are

The minimum and maximum?

Oh sure… from five dollars an hour up to half a million dollars a year? I mean, I honestly don’t know; it’s that wide of a range – so wide as to be completely useless to try and answer your question.

Do some research

What I would suggest you do instead is:

  • Start talking to some of the companies that you are interested in working for;

  • Start talking to some of the people that work for those companies;

  • Start talking to some of the recruiting firms that may be in your area, or may deal with those kinds of companies.

Start there, simply to get a sense for the answer to your question. I think that’s probably the best and most qualified way you’re going to get an answer.

Just in general terms… it depends so much on so many different things! Your best bet is to narrow down the focus of your question to a specific place. Then, you can at least start to understand what might be realistic.

Do this

Subscribe to Confident Computing! Less frustration and more confidence, solutions, answers, and tips in your inbox every week.

I'll see you there!

Leave a reply:

Before commenting please:

  • Read the article.
  • Comment on the article.
  • No personal information.
  • No spam.

Comments violating those rules will be removed. Comments that don't add value will be removed, including off-topic or content-free comments, or comments that look even a little bit like spam. All comments containing links and certain keywords will be moderated before publication.

I want comments to be valuable for everyone, including those who come later and take the time to read.