If you want to become a designated in-house authority or a technology guru, the role of a lead developer may right up your alley. In the IT world, a lead developer is a software engineer in charge of several projects. In many organizations, the role of lead developer goes beyond software development and reaches the technical leader of a team of developers.
In general, a lead developer is responsible for advocating on best practices, communicating progress, monitoring other developers, and providing technical guidance to the team; in short, they are responsible for facilitating the smooth running of projects. They may collaborate with makers, stakeholders, designers, CEOs, or top managers to ensure that the goals of the team align with the business goals of clients. Moreover, they act as a bridge between their development team and other business-oriented departments in their organization.
This career requires a bachelor's degree in computer science, software engineering, math, physics, or a related field. Most employers prefer an individual with several years of experience in software development. Lead developers should also have in-depth knowledge of software development, hands-on experience with coding and delivering digital products, and the ability to delegate tasks to other team members and peer developers.
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a Lead Developer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $56.99 an hour? That's $118,541 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 21% and produce 284,100 job opportunities across the U.S.
There are certain skills that many Lead Developers have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed Analytical skills, Communication skills and Creativity.
If you're interested in becoming a Lead Developer, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 68.0% of Lead Developers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 20.9% of Lead Developers have master's degrees. Even though most Lead Developers have a college degree, it's impossible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a Lead Developer. When we researched the most common majors for a Lead Developer, we found that they most commonly earn Bachelor's Degree degrees or Master's Degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on Lead Developer resumes include Associate Degree degrees or Diploma degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a Lead Developer. In fact, many Lead Developer jobs require experience in a role such as Developer. Meanwhile, many Lead Developers also have previous career experience in roles such as Senior Software Engineer or Software Engineer.