How To Become A Senior Computer Programmer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a senior computer programmer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

James Sellmann Ph.D.

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a senior computer programmer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $40.79 an hour? That's $84,843 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -7% and produce -17,900 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a senior computer programmer?

James Sellmann Ph.D.

Dean, Professor of Philosophy and Micronesian Studies, University of Guam

General advice is to keep in mind that you must leverage your skills, especially your soft skills of being able to work with people, to communicate effectively and to be able to solve problems. Be real. Don't try to pretend to be someone else to impress others. Be your authentic self. And show up on time.

ScoreSenior Computer ProgrammerUS Average

Salary

6.6

Avg. Salary $84,843

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 15.12%

Black or African American 4.87%

Hispanic or Latino 8.60%

Unknown 4.66%

White 66.56%

Gender

female 24.57%

male 75.43%

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 senior computer programmer

Explore senior computer programmer education requirements

Most common senior computer programmer degrees

Bachelor's

65.0 %

Associate

17.9 %

Master's

13.6 %

Start to develop specific senior computer programmer skills

Skills	Percentages
C++	11.55%
C #	11.52%
Java	8.86%
JavaScript	7.33%
HTML	6.19%

Complete relevant senior computer programmer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New senior computer programmers 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 senior computer programmer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real senior computer programmer resumes.

Research senior computer programmer duties and responsibilities

Lead solutions engineering that involve process automation, macro conversion and functionality enhancement.
Web development technologies utilize included xHTML, JavaScript (including JQuery), CSS, AJAX, and JSON.
Analyze and develop programs in Cobol VSE using SQL, CICS, and SDF.
Transform XML can be test using automate scripts for each iteration.

Get senior computer programmer experience

Generally, it takes 6-8 years to become a senior computer programmer. The most common roles before becoming a senior computer programmer include computer programmer, programmer analyst team lead and senior software engineer.

Prepare your senior computer programmer resume

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

Choose from 10+ customizable senior computer programmer resume templates

Build a professional senior computer programmer 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 senior computer programmer resume.

Apply for senior computer programmer jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a senior computer programmer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

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

How do senior computer programmers rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

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1 star

Senior computer programmer reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2023

Pros

$88K may be the average, but a Senior CICS System Programmer (let's say 5 to 10 years of experience, and really knowledgeable) will pay $70/hour. Again, you really have to know your internals and debugging, and newer stuff like CPSM, TCP/IP, JVM, etc.

Cons

You will be oncall...personally,I am once every 5 weeks. My shop is pretty static, so I don't get called often...but some shops can have brutal oncalls.

A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2019