How To Become A Program Developer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a program developer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

As a program developer, you are expected to develop and design new programs for a system. You should be able to implement codes to improve the state of a computer system. You are responsible for analyzing programs for the installation of new systems.

The program developer is in charge of research, maintenance, and implementation of new software programs and also upgrades the old ones. You may also be in charge of training new users and providing needed support on how to use new programs and systems. The Program developer also works with other team members on technical issues; they prepare reports on new design installation.

A program developer should acquire a bachelor's degree in computer science and other related courses. Employers or organizations want a program developer with good problem-solving, organizational, and time management skills. A creative mindset is also necessary when aspiring for this position. The average salary for a program developer is about $107,510 per year.

ScoreProgram DeveloperUS Average

Salary

5.8

Avg. Salary $74,749

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.1

Growth rate -7%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.18%

Asian 15.04%

Black or African American 4.97%

Hispanic or Latino 8.78%

Unknown 4.69%

White 66.34%

Gender

female 57.38%

male 42.62%

Age - 48

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 48

Stress level

5.1

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.3

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.7

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a program developer

Explore program developer education requirements

Most common program developer degrees

Bachelor's

64.9 %

Master's

20.3 %

Associate

7.8 %

Start to develop specific program developer skills

Skills	Percentages
Development Programs	17.58%
Community Outreach	8.58%
Project Management	7.28%
Professional Development	4.93%
C++	4.47%

Complete relevant program developer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New program developers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a program developer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real program developer resumes.

Research program developer duties and responsibilities

Develop windows forms programs to automate manual in-house processes integrate with third party applications using Microsoft VB.Net.
Convert PSD mockups into pure hand-written HTML, HTML5 and CSS, CSS3 pages.
Train community members and health care professionals in first-aid and CPR.
Create, design, and code the HTML coding for the user interface.

Prepare your program developer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your program developer resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a program developer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable program developer resume templates

Build a professional program developer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your program developer resume.