Technology
Software Engineer
Software engineers translate problems into working software — writing, testing, and maintaining code across web, mobile, and backend systems. The work blends logical problem-solving with collaboration in teams using agile workflows.
Median salary
$132,000
Typical range
$85k – $220k
Job outlook
+17% (much faster than average)
AI exposure
Plan a path to Software Engineer
Education
Typical entry: Bachelor's degree
Bachelor's in CS is typical, but bootcamps and self-teaching are viable.
Plan my path to this →Typical progression
Software Engineer Intern
Internship
$42,500
~4 mos to advance
Junior Software Engineer
Entry / Junior
$85,000
~2 yrs to advance
Software Engineer
Established
$132,000
~3 yrs to advance
Senior Software Engineer
Senior
$176,000
Internships are a common on-ramp here — they speed up landing that first role and improve your odds, which is why the Safe and High-ceiling plans build one in.
Key skills
A typical day
- •Write and review code
- •Debug and fix issues
- •Design systems and APIs
Fields of study
Computer Science · Software Engineering · Information Technology
Top colleges for Technology
Explore all- Massachusetts Institute of Technology4% admit · $124,000 grad pay
- Stanford University4% admit · $122,000 grad pay
- Carnegie Mellon University11% admit · $109,000 grad pay
- University of California, Berkeley11% admit · $97,000 grad pay
- Georgia Institute of Technology16% admit · $99,000 grad pay
Reputation-based selection; stats shown are outcome data per school.
Related careers
Other careers from this field of study
Mapped by field-of-study code (Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Technology), not by job-title guessing.