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.
Software Architect Overview
Software Architect Careers
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a software architect. For example, did you know that they make an average of $46.2 an hour? That's $96,102 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 21% and produce 284,100 job opportunities across the U.S.
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.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be a software architect, we found that a lot of resumes listed 9.1% of software architects included architecture, while 8.4% of resumes included software development, and 7.4% of resumes included cloud. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
When it comes to searching for a job, many search for a key term or phrase. Instead, it might be more helpful to search by industry, as you might be missing jobs that you never thought about in industries that you didn't even think offered positions related to the software architect job title. But what industry to start with? Most software architects actually find jobs in the technology and finance industries.
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 62.8% of software architects have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 24.1% of software architects have master's degrees. Even though most software architects have a college degree, it's possible 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 software architect. When we researched the most common majors for a software architect, we found that they most commonly earn bachelor's degree degrees or master's degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on software architect resumes include associate degree degrees or doctoral degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a software architect. In fact, many software architect jobs require experience in a role such as senior software engineer. Meanwhile, many software architects also have previous career experience in roles such as software engineer or software developer.
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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.
Software Architect Jobs You Might Like
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Average Salary for a Software Architect
Best Paying Cities
Recently Added Salaries
Job TitleCompany  | Company | Start Date | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
Alteryx Software Architect Software Architect | Alteryx Alteryx | 06/30/2021 06/30/2021 | $158,50006/30/2021 $158,500 |
XXX Software Architect Software Architect | XXX XXX | 06/29/2021 06/29/2021 | $85,15506/29/2021 $85,155 |
XXX Principal Software Architect (Ts/Sci) Principal Software Architect (Ts/Sci) | XXX XXX | 06/29/2021 06/29/2021 | $98,70006/29/2021 $98,700 |
XXX Principal Software Architect (Ts/Sci) Principal Software Architect (Ts/Sci) | XXX XXX | 06/28/2021 06/28/2021 | $98,70006/28/2021 $98,700 |
University of Michigan Solutions Software Architect Solutions Software Architect | University of Michigan University of Michigan | 06/25/2021 06/25/2021 | $115,00006/25/2021 $115,000 |
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Software Architect Resumes
Designing and figuring out what to include on your resume can be tough, not to mention time-consuming. That's why we put together a guide that is designed to help you craft the perfect resume for becoming a Software Architect. If you're needing extra inspiration, take a look through our selection of templates that are specific to your job.
10 Best Resume Templates In 2021
Learn How To Write a Software Architect Resume
At Zippia, we went through countless Software Architect resumes and compiled some information about how best to optimize them. Here are some suggestions based on what we found, divided by the individual sections of the resume itself.
View Detailed InformationTop 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
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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, 9.1% of software architects listed architecture on their resume, but soft skills such as analytical skills and communication skills are important as well.
- Architecture, 9.1%
- Software Development, 8.4%
- Cloud, 7.4%
- API, 5.6%
- Python, 5.5%
- Other Skills, 64.0% See All Software Architect Skills
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, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. Software architects make the most in California with an average salary of $124,510. Whereas in Washington and Massachusetts, they would average $119,856 and $110,966, respectively. While software architects would only make an average of $109,521 in New Hampshire, 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
$119,856
Avg. Salary
2. California
$124,510
Avg. Salary
3. Massachusetts
$110,966
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 $80,561. Tech Mahindra follows up with an average salary of $79,812, and then comes Cerner with an average of $101,073. 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 VMware, Gartner, and The PNC Financial Services Group
Software Architect Videos
