How To Become A Software Programmer/Analyst: What It Is and Career Path

What is a software programmer/analyst and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 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 software programmer/analyst. For example, did you know that they make an average of $34.75 an hour? That's $72,278 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 software programmer/analyst?

Frank McCown Ph.D.

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.

ScoreSoftware Programmer/AnalystUS Average

Salary

5.6

Avg. Salary $72,278

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 29.98%

Black or African American 4.39%

Hispanic or Latino 8.12%

Unknown 4.79%

White 52.56%

Gender

female 26.33%

male 73.67%

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

7.9

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.6

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a software programmer/analyst

Explore software programmer/analyst education requirements

Most common software programmer/analyst degrees

Bachelor's

77.9 %

Master's

9.9 %

Associate

8.7 %

Start to develop specific software programmer/analyst skills

Skills	Percentages
Java	9.40%
SQL Server	6.88%
HTML	5.98%
JQuery	5.54%
CSS	5.11%

Complete relevant software programmer/analyst training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New software programmer/analysts 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 software programmer/analyst based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real software programmer/analyst resumes.

Research software programmer/analyst duties and responsibilities

Experience in managing and reviewing Hadoop log files and running Hadoop streaming jobs to process terabytes of xml format data.
Develop different VBA macro tools to automate reporting and assure information accuracy, overlapping avoidance and management control.
Develop web UI for several projects by utilizing HTML, JavaScript, CSS, and AJAX.
Create back end procedures using PL/SQL.

Get software programmer/analyst experience

Generally, it takes 2-4 years to become a software programmer/analyst. The most common roles before becoming a software programmer/analyst include programmer analyst, programmer team lead and software developer.

Apply for software programmer/analyst jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a software programmer/analyst 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 software programmer/analysts rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Software programmer/analyst reviews

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 :)

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

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.

What is a software programmer/analyst and how to become one

What general advice would you give to a software programmer/analyst?

Software programmer/analyst career paths

Key steps to become a software programmer/analyst

Explore software programmer/analyst education requirements

Most common software programmer/analyst degrees

Start to develop specific software programmer/analyst skills

Complete relevant software programmer/analyst training and internships

Research software programmer/analyst duties and responsibilities

Get software programmer/analyst experience

Apply for software programmer/analyst jobs

How did you land your first software programmer/analyst job

Average software programmer/analyst salary

How do software programmer/analysts rate their job?

Software programmer/analyst reviews