A Software Engineering Manager is an administrative position, which reports to higher management, tasked with supervising and directing the work of other software engineers within projects involving the design and development of software, programs, and applications.
This Manager must establish and stick to a timeline and a budget, solve any issues that come up, create an efficient but healthy work environment, develop plans for the project, participate in the programming of the software, work with those in higher positions and explain work to them and potential customers, and mentoring new employees.
Typically, a Software Engineering Manager must have at least a Bachelor's degree in a subject such as Computer Science or Programming, along with several years of experience in a closely related industry or position. As an individual contributor, he/she must be proficient in programming languages and programs. Some experience in a managerial position might be requested as well.
What is a Software Engineering Manager?
What Does a Software Engineering Manager Do
There are certain skills that many software engineering managers 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 creativity, interpersonal skills and problem-solving skills.
How To Become a Software Engineering Manager
If you're interested in becoming a software engineering manager, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 71.4% of software engineering managers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 19.6% of software engineering managers have master's degrees. Even though most software engineering managers have a college degree, it's impossible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Software Engineering Manager Career Paths
In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of senior project manager you might progress to a role such as information technology director eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title senior director of information & technology.
Average Salary for a Software Engineering Manager
What Am I Worth?
Top Colleges for Software Engineering Managers
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 Engineering Manager
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, 19.0% of software engineering managers listed software development on their resume, but soft skills such as creativity and interpersonal skills are important as well.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Software Engineering Manager Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Software Engineering Manager templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Software Engineering Manager resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Software Engineering Manager Demographics
Software Engineering Manager Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among software engineering managers, 14.0% of them are women, while 86.0% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among software engineering managers is White, which makes up 56.5% of all software engineering managers.
- The most common foreign language among software engineering managers is Spanish at 22.2%.
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Best States For a Software Engineering Manager
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a software engineering manager. The best states for people in this position are Washington, California, Alaska, and Oregon. Software engineering managers make the most in Washington with an average salary of $158,025. Whereas in California and Alaska, they would average $157,991 and $153,930, respectively. While software engineering managers would only make an average of $139,507 in Oregon, 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
$158,025
Avg. Salary
2. California
$157,991
Avg. Salary
3. Oregon
$139,507
Avg. Salary
How Do Software Engineering Manager Rate Their Jobs?
Top Software Engineering Manager 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 engineering managers and discovered their number of software engineering manager opportunities and average salary. Through our research, we concluded that Meta was the best, especially with an average salary of $236,608. Microsoft follows up with an average salary of $194,318, and then comes LinkedIn with an average of $197,703. 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 engineering manager. The employers include Viasat, Dell, and Medtronic
Most Common Employers For Software Engineering Manager
| Rank  | Company  | Average Salary  | Hourly Rate  | Job Openings  |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meta | $236,608 | $113.75 | 491 |
| 2 | $232,788 | $111.92 | 118 | |
| 3 | $197,703 | $95.05 | 333 | |
| 4 | Apple | $196,817 | $94.62 | 167 |
| 5 | Microsoft | $194,318 | $93.42 | 383 |
| 6 | Intel | $161,617 | $77.70 | 140 |
| 7 | Yahoo | $161,479 | $77.63 | 68 |
| 8 | Salesforce | $153,482 | $73.79 | 172 |
| 9 | EMC | $146,894 | $70.62 | 79 |
| 10 | FactSet | $139,442 | $67.04 | 68 |
Software Engineering Manager Videos
Becoming a Software Engineering Manager FAQs
Do software engineering managers make more than software engineers?
Yes, software engineering managers make more than software engineers. On average, software engineering managers make $129,000 yearly compared to software engineers at $86,000.
As most jobs go, factors like location, industry, and experience can determine your exact pay. For managers, especially, their position is usually senior or executive level with high-level responsibilities and duties and thus generally means higher pay.
Do software engineers need managers?
Yes, software engineers need managers. The manager is an administrative position, which reports to higher management, and supervises and directs the work of other software engineers within projects involving the design and development of software, programs, and applications.
How long does it take to become a software engineering manager?
It usually takes more than ten years to become a software engineering manager. The position generally requires postsecondary education as well as relevant experience in software engineering and team management.
How much do software engineer managers make?
Software engineer managers make about $129,000 annually. That's about $10,799 monthly and $62 hourly.
As most jobs go, factors like location, industry, and experience can determine your exact pay.