Jobs and Wages Overview: Computer Applications Programming
Career News September 12, 2014Those that graduate from bachelor’s degree programs in computer applications programming, also known as software engineering, may look into careers as computer programmers or computer applications software engineers.
Jobs and Wages for Graduates of Bachelor’s Degrees in Computer Applications Programming
Software, such as computer games, business applications, network control systems, and operating systems, is designed by computer applications software engineers. After they have analyzed the needs of the user, computer applications software engineers create focused utility programs, software, and computer applications. Different programming languages, such as Java, Python, C++, or C, are used by software engineers depending on the end use of the program.
Computer programmers convert the design of completed software programs into instructions to be followed by the computer; numerous programming languages are used to code these instructions. Python and C++ are most commonly used for programming by computer programmers.
Job and Wage Outlook
Demand for computer applications software engineers is expected to be driven by the continual expansion of the Internet and computer networking technologies. A growth rate of 32% in the overall employment of computer software engineers has been predicted over the 2008 – 2018 decade (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). Rapidly evolving technologies, such as wireless capabilities and mobile technology, are also expected to boost the market for new software products, thereby creating 295,000 new jobs (BLS).
However, a negative growth rate of 3% has been predicted for computer programming jobs over the 2008 – 2018 decade owing to advances in programming technologies, offshore outsourcing, and increasing numbers of users with the ability to write their own computer programs.
In May 2012, computer applications software engineers earned an average annual wage of $87,900, while computer programmers took home $74,280 (BLS).
The following shows the average annual wages for graduates of a bachelor’s degree program in computer science:
•Senior software engineer (programmer and developer): $88,445
•Software engineer (programmer and developer): $60,718
•Software developer (Web applications): $57,369
