Software architects contribute to the creation of software, focusing on the design and usability aspects of computer applications. They are responsible for making sure software under construction meets technical standards, and see to correct coding and satisfactory use of tools and platforms within the software.
Working in this position, you will work alongside a team of IT professionals creating user-friendly and attractive software to make life and work easier for people using them. It will be your job to develop and implement project specifications, integrate new software with existing systems, and oversee the development of the technological aspects of the applications.
Candidates with a degree in computer science, software design, programming, or a related area will most probably be preferred by employers. Experience in software architecture might also be an expectation, but most importantly, you need to be confident and familiar with the use of specialized software and other tools that software designers work with. If you have the technical knowledge and analytical mind this position requires, you can make around $101,000 on average per year.
What is a Software Architect?
What Does a Software Architect Do
There are certain skills that many software architects 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.
How To Become a Software Architect
If you're interested in becoming a software architect, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 65.8% of software architects have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 25.4% of software architects have master's degrees. Even though most software architects have a college degree, it's impossible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Software Architect Career Paths
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a software architect can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as solutions architect, progress to a title such as project manager and then eventually end up with the title senior director of information & technology.
Average Salary for a Software Architect
What Am I Worth?
States With The Most Software Architect Jobs
Mouse over a state to see the number of active software architect jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where software architects earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.
Number Of Software Architect Jobs By State
| Rank | State | Number of Jobs | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 14,526 | $128,013 |
| 2 | Texas | 6,385 | $102,211 |
| 3 | Washington | 4,813 | $119,790 |
| 4 | Illinois | 4,116 | $98,904 |
| 5 | Florida | 4,012 | $84,472 |
| 6 | Virginia | 3,754 | $101,421 |
| 7 | Massachusetts | 3,688 | $115,528 |
| 8 | New York | 3,599 | $106,477 |
| 9 | Georgia | 3,120 | $90,389 |
| 10 | Pennsylvania | 3,038 | $104,161 |
| 11 | North Carolina | 2,528 | $97,045 |
| 12 | Maryland | 2,414 | $104,096 |
| 13 | New Jersey | 2,301 | $101,270 |
| 14 | Ohio | 2,194 | $95,394 |
| 15 | Colorado | 2,143 | $102,225 |
| 16 | Oregon | 1,817 | $118,605 |
| 17 | Arizona | 1,811 | $116,074 |
| 18 | Michigan | 1,807 | $94,960 |
| 19 | Minnesota | 1,796 | $94,610 |
| 20 | Indiana | 1,590 | $91,295 |
| 21 | Utah | 1,445 | $106,266 |
| 22 | Missouri | 1,311 | $90,420 |
| 23 | Wisconsin | 1,249 | $95,670 |
| 24 | Connecticut | 1,132 | $100,091 |
| 25 | Alabama | 965 | $90,319 |
| 26 | Tennessee | 926 | $82,287 |
| 27 | Kentucky | 732 | $86,875 |
| 28 | Kansas | 721 | $83,633 |
| 29 | Iowa | 702 | $85,974 |
| 30 | Arkansas | 663 | $84,337 |
| 31 | South Carolina | 609 | $80,593 |
| 32 | Idaho | 569 | $106,652 |
| 33 | Nevada | 540 | $111,287 |
| 34 | Rhode Island | 511 | $95,010 |
| 35 | Delaware | 508 | $105,949 |
| 36 | Louisiana | 508 | $82,731 |
| 37 | New Hampshire | 475 | $106,199 |
| 38 | Nebraska | 472 | $97,197 |
| 39 | New Mexico | 425 | $105,671 |
| 40 | Oklahoma | 416 | $97,546 |
| 41 | Montana | 357 | $87,553 |
| 42 | Maine | 315 | $90,776 |
| 43 | Vermont | 314 | $104,989 |
| 44 | North Dakota | 276 | $84,016 |
| 45 | West Virginia | 261 | $84,422 |
| 46 | Mississippi | 245 | $84,883 |
| 47 | South Dakota | 228 | $82,968 |
| 48 | Hawaii | 220 | $84,622 |
| 49 | Wyoming | 213 | $104,924 |
| 50 | Alaska | 195 | $112,762 |
Top Colleges for Software Architects
1. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
2. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
3. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Private
4. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
5. Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, GA • Private
6. Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN • Private
7. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
8. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
9. California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
Pomona, CA • Private
10. University of California - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Top Skills For a Software Architect
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 8.4% of software architects listed java on their resume, but soft skills such as analytical skills and communication skills are important as well.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Software Architect Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Software Architect templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Software Architect resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Software Architect Demographics
Software Architect Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among software architects, 6.2% of them are women, while 93.8% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among software architects is White, which makes up 56.5% of all software architects.
- The most common foreign language among software architects is Spanish at 20.8%.
Work Experience Programs For Software Architects
Virtual work experience programs replicate work at top companies and help you gain the skills to be successful when applying and working there. In only a few hours, learn the relevant tools necessary to complete a typical work day at that company. Virtual work experience programs are 100% free, open-access, and self-paced. No experience or application is required!
Company: Accenture UK
Cost: Free
Duration: 5.75-8 hours
Company: Standard Bank
Cost: Free
Duration: 4-4.5 hours
Company: Blackbird Australia
Cost: Free
Duration: 5-10 hours
Company: Walmart India
Cost: Free
Duration: 3.5-4 hours
Company: Standard Bank
Cost: Free
Duration: 4.5-5.5 hours
Company: Electronic Arts
Cost: Free
Duration: 4-6 hours
Online Courses For Software Architect That You May Like
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Full-Stack MVC Web Application with ASP.NET Core 3.0, ASP.NET Core 2.2 & Entity Framework Core...
Best States For a Software Architect
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a software architect. The best states for people in this position are California, Washington, Oregon, and Arizona. Software architects make the most in California with an average salary of $128,013. Whereas in Washington and Oregon, they would average $119,790 and $118,605, respectively. While software architects would only make an average of $116,074 in Arizona, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Washington
$119,790
Avg. Salary
2. Oregon
$118,605
Avg. Salary
3. California
$128,013
Avg. Salary
How Do Software Architect Rate Their Jobs?
Top Software Architect Employers
We've made finding a great employer to work for easy by doing the hard work for you. We looked into employers that employ software architects and discovered their number of software architect opportunities and average salary. Through our research, we concluded that UST Global was the best, especially with an average salary of $86,471. Tech Mahindra follows up with an average salary of $85,211, and then comes Tanisha Systems with an average of $104,729. In addition, we know most people would rather work from home. So instead of having to change careers, we identified the best employers for remote work as a software architect. The employers include NVIDIA, Veeva Systems, and Crestron Electronics
Most Common Employers For Software Architect
| Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NVIDIA | $167,617 | $80.59 | 38 |
| 2 | Cadence Design Systems | $146,273 | $70.32 | 37 |
| 3 | Intel | $133,168 | $64.02 | 61 |
| 4 | Hewlett Packard Enterprise | $121,120 | $58.23 | 37 |
| 5 | Cerner | $120,260 | $57.82 | 199 |
| 6 | Comcast | $116,165 | $55.85 | 94 |
| 7 | iTech US | $111,586 | $53.65 | 136 |
| 8 | Data | $111,492 | $53.60 | 138 |
| 9 | Youngsoft | $107,298 | $51.59 | 35 |
| 10 | SGS Technologie | $106,699 | $51.30 | 41 |
Software Architect Videos
Becoming a Software Architect FAQs
Software Architect Vs. Software Engineer
A software architect works on the design of an overall development process but doesn't involve coding in their work, while a software engineer does the designing, coding, and execution of software.