Software developers
Typically requires Bachelor's degree
What is this page & how do I use it?
This is a research report for one career — the kind an analyst would write for a stock. The rating at the top is the neutral baseline (same for everyone); below it come the cases for and against, how the last official forecast for this career actually aged, and what the education path costs and pays.
How to use it: read the bulls-vs-bears case, then hit Score this career to weigh it against your other options with your own interests factored in.
Analyst take: Strong market prospects — +15.8% projected growth, high AI exposure (87/100).
Data note: O*NET 29.0 doesn’t cover this SOC code yet, so its skill profile (used for fit, moat, and related careers) is estimated from sibling occupations in the same SOC group — see methodology.
Moat (borrowed from investing — the water that defends a castle): how shielded this career is from AI. None = broadly exposed — many of its tasks are automatable and its skills are widely shared. (Exposure ≠ job loss; see the bears below.)
The small grid is a style box (borrowed from Morningstar’s fund reports): the blue square places this career on reward (top row = high) versus risk (left column = low), against all 730 careers. High uncertainty means the score leans heavily on forward-looking bets (mostly AI exposure) that history can't confirm yet.
- +Strong projected growth — outpaces 97% of careers (+15.8%).
- +High pay — above 96% of careers ($133,080).
- −High AI exposure — 87% of tasks are model-touchable (exposure ≠ job loss).
Education & ROI — how to get here
Real outcomes for the college majors that feed this occupation, across 3,261 bachelor’s programs.
Earnings & debt from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard; majors mapped to this occupation via the NCES CIP→SOC crosswalk. A grounded ROI snapshot, not a guarantee — pay varies widely by school and specialty.