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Software Developers in Pennsylvania

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Software Developers in Pennsylvania

Considering working as a Software Developers in Pennsylvania? Here’s what you need to know. Research, design, and develop computer and network software or specialized utility programs. Analyze user needs and develop software solutions, applying principles and techniques of computer science, engineering, and mathematical analysis. Update software or enhance existing software capabilities. May work with computer hardware engineers to integrate hardware and software systems, and develop specifications and performance requirements. May maintain databases within an application area, working individually or coordinating database development as part of a team.

What do Software Developers Make in Pennsylvania?

The software developers working in Pennsylvania, the median annual wage is $123,740 per year (or roughly $59.49/hour).Annual wages span from $73,730 at the 10th percentile to $167,290 at the 90th percentile.

Wage Statistic Annual Hourly
10th percentile $73,730 $35.45
25th percentile $94,490 $45.43
Median (50th) $123,740 $59.49
75th percentile $147,060 $70.70
90th percentile $167,290 $80.43
Salary ranges for Software Developers in Pennsylvania

The job concentration index in Pennsylvania relative to the national average — is 0.73, indicating fewer software developers per worker than the national average.

National Wage Comparison

Nationally, software developers earn a median of $76,447 per year ($36.75/hour), exceeding the Pennsylvania median.

Employment Outlook

Nationally, total employment in this occupation is 127,793 software developers in the U.S.. In Pennsylvania alone, approximately 47,350 people work in this role. That’s more than the typical state, which employs around 15,850 software developers.

Forecasted number of jobs for Software Developers

Top Pennsylvania Metros for Software Developers

These are the Pennsylvania metros with the most software developers in Pennsylvania.

Metro Area Number Employed Annual Median Salary
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 26,150 $130,670
Pittsburgh, PA 8,820 $122,350
Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA 2,120 $106,690
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ 1,360 $112,340
Scranton–Wilkes-Barre, PA 700 $110,860
Lancaster, PA 660 $103,530
Reading, PA 490 $116,990
York-Hanover, PA 480 $103,310
State College, PA 370 $103,380
Erie, PA 360 $98,480
Altoona, PA 150 $97,120
Chambersburg, PA 150 $111,900
Johnstown, PA 110 $97,160
Williamsport, PA 60 $91,310
Lebanon, PA 50 $106,940
Gettysburg, PA 30 $105,450

Top States for Software Developers Employment

These states have the highest employment of software developers work.

State Number Employed
California 292,630
Texas 151,460
New York 104,130
Washington 91,470
Virginia 83,290
Florida 82,610
North Carolina 57,590
New Jersey 57,120
Illinois 54,490
Massachusetts 54,260
Colorado 48,980
Pennsylvania 47,350
Georgia 47,350
Ohio 44,280
Michigan 41,490
Minnesota 39,580
Arizona 35,650
Maryland 31,940
Utah 29,160
Wisconsin 22,170

Highest-Paying States for Software Developers

Where software developers earn the most: software developers.

State Annual Median Salary
California $170,910
Washington $166,910
Virgin Islands $162,820
New York $161,260
Massachusetts $150,520
Maryland $137,890
District of Columbia $136,040
Oregon $135,260
Delaware $135,160
Colorado $134,540

Skills

The most important software developers skills, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Programming  4.0 / 5
0
5
Critical Thinking  3.9 / 5
0
5
Judgment and Decision Making  3.6 / 5
0
5
Active Learning  3.5 / 5
0
5
Reading Comprehension  3.5 / 5
0
5
Systems Analysis  3.5 / 5
0
5

Knowledge Areas

Core knowledge areas for this occupation, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Computers and Electronics  4.8 / 5
0
5
Mathematics  3.6 / 5
0
5
Customer and Personal Service  3.6 / 5
0
5
English Language  3.3 / 5
0
5
Education and Training  2.8 / 5
0
5
Engineering and Technology  2.8 / 5
0
5

Abilities

The abilities that matter most for software developers, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Near Vision  3.8 / 5
0
5
Oral Comprehension  3.8 / 5
0
5
Written Comprehension  3.8 / 5
0
5
Problem Sensitivity  3.8 / 5
0
5
Deductive Reasoning  3.8 / 5
0
5
Oral Expression  3.8 / 5
0
5

Daily Tasks

Common tasks include:

  • Analyze user needs and software requirements to determine feasibility of design within time and cost constraints.
  • Develop or direct software system testing or validation procedures, programming, or documentation.
  • Confer with systems analysts, engineers, programmers and others to design systems and to obtain information on project limitations and capabilities, performance requirements and interfaces.
  • Modify existing software to correct errors, adapt it to new hardware, or upgrade interfaces and improve performance.
  • Prepare reports or correspondence concerning project specifications, activities, or status.
  • Analyze information to determine, recommend, and plan installation of a new system or modification of an existing system.
  • Store, retrieve, and manipulate data for analysis of system capabilities and requirements.
  • Design, develop and modify software systems, using scientific analysis and mathematical models to predict and measure outcomes and consequences of design.
  • Determine system performance standards.
  • Consult with customers or other departments on project status, proposals, or technical issues, such as software system design or maintenance.
  • Confer with data processing or project managers to obtain information on limitations or capabilities for data processing projects.
  • Monitor functioning of equipment to ensure system operates in conformance with specifications.

Work Activities

  • Working with Computers
  • Processing Information
  • Making Decisions and Solving Problems
  • Thinking Creatively
  • Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
  • Analyzing Data or Information
  • Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge
  • Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work
  • Getting Information
  • Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards
  • Documenting/Recording Information
  • Developing Objectives and Strategies

Tools & Technology

Technologies frequently used: Hot technologies: Adobe Acrobat, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Creative Cloud software, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, AJAX, Alteryx software, Amazon DynamoDB, Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud EC2, Amazon Redshift, Amazon Web Services AWS CloudFormation, Amazon Web Services AWS software, Ansible software, Apache Airflow, Apache Cassandra, Apache Hadoop, Apache Hive, Apache Kafka In-demand technologies: Amazon Web Services AWS software, Apache Kafka, Atlassian JIRA, C, C#

What Major Will Prepare You For This Career?

Several college majors map to this occupation:

  • Computer and Information Sciences and Support Services — 12 programs across 6 majors

Careers similar to software developers include:

Also Known As

AI Specialist (Artificial Intelligence Specialist), Application Analyst, Application Architect, Application Developer, Application Engineer, Application Integration Engineer, Application Integrator, Application Programmer, Application Software Engineering IT Specialist (Application Software Engineering Information Technology Specialist), Application Support Engineer, Application Systems Analyst, Application Systems Architect, Beta Tester, Business Application Developer, Certified Internetwork Expert.

References

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