2018 Job Outlook for Computer Programmers

All this information was found on the Bureau of Labor Statistics Website.

Job Outlook

Employment of computer programmers is projected to decline 7 percent from 2018 to 2028. Computer programming can be done from anywhere in the world, so companies sometimes hire programmers in countries where wages are lower. This ongoing trend is projected to limit employment growth for computer programmers in the United States. However, the high costs associated with managing projects given to overseas programmers sometimes offsets the savings from the lower wages, causing some companies to bring back or keep programming jobs in the United States.

Pay

The median annual wage for computer programmers was $84,280 in May 2018. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $48,790, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $134,630.

In May 2018, the median annual wages for computer programmers in the top industries in which they worked were as follows:

Software publishers$103,530
Finance and insurance$88,260
Computer systems design and related services$83,230
Manufacturing$82,710

Most computer programmers work full time.