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You might not think that programmers are artists, but programming is an extremely creative profession. Computer Programmers made a median salary of $86,550 in 2019. The best-paid 25 percent made $112,120 that year, while the lowest-paid 25 percent made $65,760.

What Computer Programmers Do

Computer programmers write and test code that allows computer applications and software programs to function properly.

Work Environment

Programmers usually work in offices, most commonly in the computer systems design and related services industry.

How to Become a Computer Programmer

Most computer programmers have a bachelor’s degree; however, some employers hire workers with an associate’s degree. Most programmers specialize in a few programming languages.

Pay

The median annual wage for computer programmers was $89,190 in May 2020.

Job Outlook

Programmers Cv

Employment of computer programmers is projected to decline 9 percent from 2019 to 2029. Computer programming can be done from anywhere in the world, so companies sometimes hire programmers in countries where wages are lower.

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State & Area Data

Explore resources for employment and wages by state and area for computer programmers.

Similar Occupations

Compare the job duties, education, job growth, and pay of computer programmers with similar occupations.

More Information, Including Links to O*NET

Programmers Pad

Learn more about computer programmers by visiting additional resources, including O*NET, a source on key characteristics of workers and occupations.

Computer programmers write and test code that allows computer applications and software programs to function properly. They turn the program designs created by software developers and engineers into instructions that a computer can follow. In addition, programmers test newly created applications and programs to ensure that they produce the expected results. If they do not work correctly, computer programmers check the code for mistakes and fix them.

Duties

Computer programmers typically do the following:

• Write programs in a variety of computer languages, such as C++ and Java
• Update and expand existing programs
• Test programs for errors and fix the faulty lines of computer code
• Create and test code in an integrated development environment (IDE)
• Use code libraries, which are collections of independent lines of code, to simplify the writing

Programmers work closely with software developers, and in some businesses their duties overlap. When such overlap occurs, programmers can do work that is typical of developers, such as designing programs. Program design entails planning the software initially, creating models and flowcharts detailing how the code is to be written, writing and debugging code, and designing an application or systems interface.

A program’s purpose determines the complexity of its computer code. For example, a weather application for a mobile device will require less programming than a social-networking application. Simpler programs can be written in less time. Complex programs, such as computer operating systems, can take a year or more to complete.

Programmers Keyboard

Software-as-a-service (SaaS), which consists of applications provided through the Internet, is a growing field. Although programmers typically need to rewrite their programs to work on different system platforms, such as Windows or OS X, applications created with SaaS work on all platforms. Accordingly, programmers writing SaaS applications may not have to rewrite as much code as other programmers do and can instead spend more time writing new programs.