Technology
Web Developer
Web developers create the sites and apps people use every day, working on the visual front end, the server-side back end, or both. It's one of the most accessible tech careers, with strong demand for portfolio-backed skills over formal degrees.
Median salary (BLS)
$84,000
10th–90th percentile (BLS)
$50k – $130k
Job outlook
+16% (much faster than average)
AI exposure
Early-career check: graduates of the matching programs below typically earn $109,000 ten years after starting college — an early-career figure, vs. the all-experience BLS median above. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard.
Plan a path to Web Developer
Education
Typical entry: Associate degree
Associate degree or bootcamp plus a strong portfolio is often enough.
Plan my path to this →How to qualify
EstimateCost to qualify
$8,300–$24,000
Time to qualify
2.3 yr
Renewal
—
- 1
Associate degree (community college)
DegreeTwo years at in-district rates — average published tuition & fees ≈ $4,050/yr, plus ~$1,200/yr books & supplies.
$8,000–$22,000 · 2 years source
- 2
Industry certification (optional)
CertificationVendor certifications (AWS, CompTIA, Google, Microsoft…) are a common entry booster, rarely a hard requirement.
$300–$2,000 · 3 months source
Estimated typical U.S. route for "Web Developer" — built from BLS education requirements and College Board 2024–25 average published prices (public, in-state tuition + fees + books). Not yet verified against a specific state's licensing rules — confirm with your state licensing board or program.
Typical progression
Junior Web Developer
Entry / Junior
$50,000
~2 yrs to advance
Web Developer
Established
$84,000
~3 yrs to advance
Senior Web Developer
Senior
$107,000
Key skills
A typical day
- •Build user interfaces
- •Integrate backends and APIs
- •Test across devices
Fields of study
Computer Science · Web Development · 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, Web Development, Information Technology), not by job-title guessing.