Software Engineer Career Path: Junior, Senior, Architect and Manager
Updated · By Andrew Johnson, OneTwo Resume
Data: BLS OES May 2025 (national median annual wage), BLS Employment Projections education and training table (2025), O*NET OnLine. Sources checked .
What is the typical software engineer career path?
Each row below is a step documented by BLS or O*NET. Pay is the national median for the step’s whole occupation across all experience levels; where a step is a level inside an occupation, BLS publishes no separate figure and none is shown.
| Step | Typical education and experience | Median pay (May 2025) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| EntryJunior software engineer | Bachelor's degree; no related work experience typically required | $135,980Software Developers (SOC 15-1252) | O*NET |
| Mid-careerSenior engineer or software architect | Experience within the occupation; BLS says developers must keep up with new tools and languages throughout their career | Not published separately; counted in Software Developers | O*NET |
| Senior / leadEngineering manager or IT director | Bachelor's degree; 5 years or more of related work experience | $175,140Computer and Information Systems Managers (SOC 11-3021) | BLS |
| Senior / leadTechnical project manager | Bachelor's degree; no related work experience typically required | $102,320Project Management Specialists (SOC 13-1082) | BLS |
| Adjacent moveInformation security analyst | Bachelor's degree; Less than 5 years of related work experience | $129,180Information Security Analysts (SOC 15-1212) | BLS |
| Adjacent moveData scientist | Bachelor's degree; no related work experience typically required | $120,230Data Scientists (SOC 15-2051) | BLS |
| Adjacent moveQA analyst or tester | Bachelor's degree; no related work experience typically required | $104,300Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers (SOC 15-1253) | O*NET |
Education and experience columns for steps with a BLS occupation are the BLS Employment Projections assignments (typical education needed for entry; work experience in a related occupation; on-the-job training). Steps without their own occupation are described from the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook.
How do you become a senior software engineer?
BLS treats junior, senior and architect-level developers as one occupation and does not set promotion criteria or publish pay by level. The sources do say what the job demands over time: developers must keep up to date on new tools and computer languages throughout their career, and some employers prefer a master’s degree for certain positions.
What can a software engineer move into?
BLS names two advancement roles — project management specialist and computer and information systems manager (engineering manager, IT director, CTO). For lateral moves, BLS lists information security analysts and data scientists among similar occupations, and O*NET lists QA analysts and testers, computer network architects and database architects as related.
How long does it take to become an engineering manager?
BLS lists the typical requirement for computer and information systems managers as a bachelor’s degree plus 5 years or more of work experience in a related occupation; chief technology officers, IT directors and other senior managers usually need many years. BLS does not publish typical years from junior to senior engineer.
What does each step involve, and which skills does it use?
What the sources say about each step, with the skills listed on our resume example for that role where we have one.
Entry
Junior software engineer
Software developers typically need a bachelor’s degree in computer and information technology or a related field such as engineering or mathematics; some employers prefer a master’s. Students may gain experience through internships. Software engineer is one of O*NET’s reported titles for software developers.
Skills from our resume example for this role
- Python
- TypeScript
- Java
- SQL
- REST APIs
- Docker
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Sources: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: Software Developers (profile) · O*NET OnLine: Software Developers · BLS Employment Projections, Table 5.4 (2025)
Mid-career
Senior engineer or software architect
BLS does not split software developers by seniority. O*NET’s reported titles for the occupation include software architect, software development engineer and DevOps engineer, so they share its single median.
Sources: O*NET OnLine: Software Developers (reported titles, related occupations) · BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: Software Developers, Quality Assurance Analysts, and Testers
Senior / lead
Engineering manager or IT director
BLS: software developers can advance to computer and information systems managers, who oversee the software development process. These managers typically need a bachelor’s degree and 5 years or more of related IT experience; chief technology officers, IT directors and other senior managers usually need many years.
Skills from our resume example for this role
- Agile Project Management
- Cross-functional Team Leadership
- Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
- Microservices Architecture
- Budget Management
- Talent Development
Resume example · Interview questions · Cover letter example
Sources: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: Computer and Information Systems Managers · O*NET OnLine: Computer and Information Systems Managers · BLS Employment Projections, Table 5.4 (2025) · BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: Software Developers, Quality Assurance Analysts, and Testers
Senior / lead
Technical project manager
BLS names project management specialist as one of the two advancement roles for software developers, overseeing the software development process.
Skills from our resume example for this role
- Project Lifecycle Management
- Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
- Critical Path Method (CPM)
- Resource Planning
- Scope and Change Control
- Stakeholder Management
Resume example · Interview questions · Cover letter example
Sources: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: Project Management Specialists · O*NET OnLine: Project Management Specialists · BLS Employment Projections, Table 5.4 (2025) · BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: Software Developers, Quality Assurance Analysts, and Testers
Adjacent move
Information security analyst
Listed by BLS as an occupation similar to software developers; BLS lists less than 5 years of related work experience as typical.
Skills from our resume example for this role
- Risk Assessment
- Incident Response
- SIEM Solutions
- Vulnerability Management
- Network Security
- Penetration Testing
Resume example · Interview questions · Cover letter example
Sources: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: Information Security Analysts · O*NET OnLine: Information Security Analysts · BLS Employment Projections, Table 5.4 (2025) · BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: Software Developers, Quality Assurance Analysts, and Testers
Adjacent move
Data scientist
Listed by BLS as an occupation similar to software developers; BLS lists software developers as similar to data scientists in turn.
Skills from our resume example for this role
- Python
- SQL
- Machine Learning
- Statistical Analysis
- Predictive Modeling
- A/B Testing
Resume example · Interview questions · Cover letter example
Sources: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: Data Scientists · O*NET OnLine: Data Scientists · BLS Employment Projections, Table 5.4 (2025) · BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: Software Developers, Quality Assurance Analysts, and Testers
Adjacent move
QA analyst or tester
O*NET lists software quality assurance analysts and testers as a related occupation, and BLS covers them in the same Handbook profile as software developers.
Skills from our resume example for this role
- Java
- Python
- JavaScript
- SQL
- RESTful APIs
- Agile Methodologies
Resume example · Interview questions · Cover letter example
Sources: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers (profile) · O*NET OnLine: Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers · BLS Employment Projections, Table 5.4 (2025) · O*NET OnLine: Software Developers (reported titles, related occupations)
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How much do you earn at each step of the software engineer career path?
National median annual wages from BLS OES May 2025, for each step's whole occupation across all experience levels: Junior software engineer: $135,980 (Software Developers); Engineering manager or IT director: $175,140 (Computer and Information Systems Managers); Technical project manager: $102,320 (Project Management Specialists); Information security analyst: $129,180 (Information Security Analysts); Data scientist: $120,230 (Data Scientists); QA analyst or tester: $104,300 (Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers). BLS does not publish pay for levels inside an occupation, such as senior or lead titles.
Is a software engineer the same as a software developer?
In BLS and O*NET data, yes: software engineer is one of the reported job titles for software developers (SOC 15-1252), so the pay and education figures here are for that occupation.
Do you need a degree to become a software engineer?
BLS lists a bachelor’s degree as the typical entry-level education, usually in computer and information technology or a related field such as engineering or mathematics, and says some employers prefer a master’s degree. BLS does not publish the share of developers who enter without one.
Is software architect a separate occupation?
Not in BLS data. O*NET lists software architect as a reported title within software developers, so there is no separate BLS median for architects.
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