In Canada, the average salary of a software engineer is as high as CA$ 86,000 a year. In the US, a software engineer earns an average salary of $36,463 annually. Like everybody else, you may be asking yourself why software engineers are paid so high as compared to people in other professions. I kept asking myself that question too before, but I can assure you that this salary is worth it.
One question that may be going through your mind right now is, “who is a software engineer, and what does he/she do to deserve such a high salary?” A software engineer writes the codes that are meant to instruct a computer by applying engineering principles. I bet you are using a smart device right now to read this article. Well, that should already tell why they are being paid very highly. We need them in our lives today more than we care to admit.
Today, almost everything we use in our lives is computerized in a way or another. Therefore, the hand of a software engineer can be seen all around us. Whether you are here just to know why these people are paid so highly or you are about to choose it as a career path, I will try my best to answer your question in this article. Here are 10 reasons why software highly paid.
10 Reasons Why Software Engineers Are Highly Paid
1. They Need to Meet a Tight Deadline and Deal With Pressure
When you talk to different software engineers, you realize that one of the issues they have to deal with is meeting extremely tight deadlines. As the world continues to grow and embrace technology, software engineers are often required to work under intense pressure to meet deadlines. Despite the short time they have to deliver the application or software, they frequently can’t compromise the quality. Without a doubt, with this kind of pressure, different areas of their lives are affected. Such great sacrifice and dedication calls for adequate compensation.
2. Software Engineers Spend More Time Learning Than Other Professionals
In most professions, the moment you graduate from university, you are done with learning unless you want to further your studies. After this, you get a job and continue to build your career without having to keep studying. However, for software engineers, this is not an option. In the field of software engineering, things are continually changing in the industry.
As this happens, programming languages also keep changing and advancing. A software engineer must stay updated to remain relevant in the field. Most software engineers need to spend more time trying to learn new programming languages to keep up. This is definitely one factor that drives up their salaries.
3. It’s on Demand for Most Companies
Although it may look like there are many software engineers around, the demand for these professionals will only keep rising. Software engineers are needed all over now more than ever. Everything is becoming digital, making more companies and individuals require the services of software engineers.
The demand for software engineers is higher today because the world today is running on software. Every individual that has access to the internet utilizes many applications and websites daily. The demand is also high because the lifetime of a code is limited. Companies are thereby forced to hire software engineers to create new codes for the ones that become outdated. As the law of demand and supply dictates, the price will be higher when the demand for service increases.
4. Supply
Talking about a shortage in software engineers today may seem untrue, but there is a real shortage today. The market has great and mediocre software engineers alike. Many people call themselves software engineers but are not talented enough to be hired by serious companies.
Others only took the career path because of the money factor. They, therefore, lack the passion and drive required to do an excellent job. Again, when the supply of skill is low, the available ones are highly demanded. Subsequently, their salaries become high. Until this gap is bridged, software engineers will continue to be paid very highly.
5. New Startups Being Creating Each Day
The concept of entrepreneurship and the need for self-employment is on the rise. More startups are cropping up daily worldwide. As this happens, the startups require the services of software engineers to grow their businesses. All business owners desire to take their businesses globally. The dream can only be achieved with the help of software engineers.
Startups can get online presence using various digital platforms, as suggested by the software engineer. Specifically, websites, social media platforms, and mobile phone applications have been used to make this possible. Software engineers thus enjoy high pay because more startups need their services.
6. The Field Is New
Unlike most other professions, the field of software engineering is still quite new. Very few people know about it, which implies that several things need to be streamlined. As a new industry, the base salary has not been established. This way, people can quote their wages and product prices as they please based on their skills, quality, and level of commitment. In the same manner, as a new industry, there are few qualified software engineers to meet the needs of everyone, thus increasing their salaries.
7. Tech Companies Have a Lot of Money
Apart from self-employment, software engineers are employed by tech companies like Apple, Google, Microsoft, Cisco Systems, Intel, and Facebook, among others. These companies have a lot of money and can afford to pay their engineers well. In Google and Facebook, for instance, an entry-level software engineer earns a salary of about $116,000 annually. That salary looks a lot, but these tech companies have enough money to afford the best of the best software engineers. They have created a high budget for such employees because that is the focus of their work.
8. The Whole World Runs on Software
Have you ever heard that the world has become a global village? No matter where you are in the world, we are all connected in an exceptional way, and this can be attributed to software engineers. Over the years, it has been established that the world is running on software. Today, despite your position in the world, it is becoming increasingly difficult to survive without the internet.
Individuals, businesses, as well as organizations, are taking their positions in the global business scene using various websites and applications. Even at an individual level, almost everything we are using today is run by computer software. Our smartphone devices work on software, and many people in the world own a smartphone device. Having said that, who makes this possible? Software engineers are doing it, making them very significant at such times. Consequently, their salaries become high as well.
9. Solve Complex Problems
The whole world celebrates the connection that has emerged due to technology. From the previous point, the world is running on software. The result is that many complex problems arise that require the attention of software engineers. Software engineers identify a need within society then come up with a software or application to solve it.
These individuals help us have better lives and make our work easier. They have come up with solutions in almost all the other sectors, including business, health, and medicine, transportation, parenting, driverless cars, et cetera. It is only fair that they are well compensated for their creative and innovative ideas by giving them high salaries.
10. Require Extensive Experience
Employers all over the world require that candidates have experience before they can be employed. The requirement is common for all industries, but it is a bit different for software engineers. To get a job or contract with a good company, they must have extensive experience in software engineering. Graduating from college is not enough.
The more they work on the processes, the more perfect they become. A more experienced software engineer produces a better job as compared to one who just came out of the university. Companies also require them to have extensive experience as a way of avoiding risk. Any small mistake in the development of software can be detrimental. Employees that have higher pay are associated with lots of experience either on personal projects or working for other people.
Conclusion
Good professionals in different fields make a lot of money. For instance lawyers, doctors, business executives, and many others. It’s not wrong for a good software engineer to make a lot of money as well.
Be a software engineer is not easy. It requires perseverance, time and discipline. Like any other profession, it can bring stress and mental drain especially when you have a complex project to deliver in a tight deadline.
I hope I have answered you well. However, if you were looking into starting a career in software engineering, I hope I have helped you make that decision as well.