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What is a project engineer/software engineer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
3 min read
Quoted experts
Frank McCown Ph.D.,
Kevin Treu Ph.D.
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a project engineer/software engineer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $57.15 an hour? That's $118,877 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 21% and produce 284,100 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a project engineer/software engineer?

Frank McCown Ph.D.Frank McCown Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Associate Professor, Harding University

The market is stable for software developers, despite the economic challenges created by the pandemic. Before accepting a job offer, talk to the company's employees through online meetings or email, and see what they think of the company. Do they enjoy their work? Are there opportunities to learn new technologies? How does the company treat their employees? There's a good chance you will be working remotely in your first job, so you will need to exercise a lot of self-discipline, be punctual for online meetings, do the work you've been assigned, and know when to ask questions when you get stuck. Expect a steeper-than-normal learning curve if you are working remotely instead of in an office.
ScoreProject Engineer/Software EngineerUS Average
Salary
8.1

Avg. Salary $118,877

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level
4.0

Growth rate 21%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity
4.0
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.17%

Asian 29.76%

Black or African American 4.64%

Hispanic or Latino 8.41%

Unknown 4.86%

White 52.17%

Gender

female 21.45%

male 78.55%

Age - 38
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 - 38
Stress level
4.0

Stress level is moderate

7.1 - high

Complexity level
8.1

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance
6.6

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Project engineer/software engineer career paths

Key steps to become a project engineer/software engineer

  1. Explore project engineer/software engineer education requirements

    Most common project engineer/software engineer degrees

    Bachelor's

    74.1 %

    Master's

    16.1 %

    Associate

    5.8 %
  2. Start to develop specific project engineer/software engineer skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Software Development10.71%
    Java9.47%
    Project Management6.08%
    Python5.63%
    JavaScript3.91%
  3. Complete relevant project engineer/software engineer training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New project engineer/software engineers 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 project engineer/software engineer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real project engineer/software engineer resumes.
  4. Research project engineer/software engineer duties and responsibilities

    • Manage technical investigations of software and database problems; coordinating between users and developers, and developing fixes or recommending workarounds.
    • Assist QA team with testing backlog.
    • Champion, teach and employ an agile scrum process laid on top of customer mandate waterfall approach.
    • Design and develop n-tier e-commerce applications, incorporating UI, invoicing, and data transformation, using primarily VB6 and SQL
  5. Prepare your project engineer/software engineer resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your project engineer/software engineer 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 project engineer/software engineer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose from 10+ customizable project engineer/software engineer resume templates

    Build a professional project engineer/software engineer 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 project engineer/software engineer resume.
    Project Engineer/Software Engineer Resume
    Project Engineer/Software Engineer Resume
    Project Engineer/Software Engineer Resume
    Project Engineer/Software Engineer Resume
    Project Engineer/Software Engineer Resume
    Project Engineer/Software Engineer Resume
    Project Engineer/Software Engineer Resume
    Project Engineer/Software Engineer Resume
    Project Engineer/Software Engineer Resume
  6. Apply for project engineer/software engineer jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a project engineer/software engineer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first project engineer/software engineer job

Zippi

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Average project engineer/software engineer salary

The average project engineer/software engineer salary in the United States is $118,877 per year or $57 per hour. Project engineer/software engineer salaries range between $90,000 and $156,000 per year.

Average project engineer/software engineer salary
$118,877 Yearly
$57.15 hourly

What am I worth?

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How do project engineer/software engineers rate their job?

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Project engineer/software engineer reviews

profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Nov 2023
Pros

Problem solving and cutting edge technology - always learning and evolving my skill set

Cons

Still have to deal with people :)


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2020
Pros

I enjoyed working on creative problems that dealt with the user interface

Cons

I didn't like how technical it could become


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A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2019
Pros

Designing a new system or making changes to an old one.

Cons

Compensation. Pay and Benefits do not match the time spent on a project. Alabama is the Worst state to live in for SOFTWARE ENGINEER Salaries. 40 to 50 percent less than our peer States.


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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