Income and benefits
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual wage for computer programmers in the United States was $89,190 in May 2020. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $51,440 and the highest 10 percent earned more than $146,050 per year.
The top paying industry was the software publishing industry, where the median annual wage was $103,710. This was followed by finance and insurance ($92,390), manufacturing ($89,530) and computer systems design and related services ($88,510).
Autonomy and Flexibility
To begin with, a computer programmer may not feel like they have a huge amount of flexibility or autonomy as when they have less experience they may find themselves working under the watchful eye of more experienced programmers. Similarly, entry-level computer programmers may find themselves working very long hours.
However, as they gather more experience and knowledge, they quickly receive more autonomy, responsibility and flexibility. With more experience, nearly all computer programmers will work independently. Also, it is not uncommon for computer programmers to be self-employed. This gives them the ultimate flexibility and control over their hours, and their decisions.
Locations and commute
According to Zippia, the best state to be a computer programmer, based on average annual salary and number of jobs available, are:
- Washington, where the average annual salary is $95,077
- District of Columbia, where the average annual salary is $80,447
- North Carolina, where the average annual salary is $71,710
- Connecticut, where the average annual salary is $73,347
- Massachusetts, where the average annual salary is $71,197
The worst states to be a computer programmer, according to Zippia, are Florida, New Mexico, Arkansas, Louisiana and West Virginia.
The Bureau of Labour Statistics concludes that 38% of computer programmers in the United States were employed by the computer systems design and related services industry. A further 8% were employed by the finance and insurance industry, 6% by the manufacturing industry, 5% by software publishers and a final 3% were self-employed workers.
Code can be written anywhere and, as a result, computer programmers tend to work from home. They may work alone, or, in larger projects, they may work as part of a team with software developers.