Software Engineer Career Path

Are you thinking of becoming a software engineer or already started your career and planning the next step? Learn how to become a software engineer, what skills you need to succeed, how to advance your career and get promoted, and what levels of pay to expect at each step on your career path. Explore new software engineer job openings and options for career transitions into related roles.

Seniority Levels

L2

Software Engineer

Alias: Resident Software Engineer, Software Engineer II...(4)
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2 - 4Years of Experience
$92,046Avg. Annual Salary
No Jobs Available
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78% advanced to

L3

Senior Software Engineer

Alias: Mid-level Software Engineer, Software Engineer III
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2 - 4Years of Experience
$121,521Avg. Annual Salary
No Jobs Available
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L4

Software Engineer IV

Alias: Staff Software Engineer, Leader of Software Engineering...(4)
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5 - 7Years of Experience
$110,167Avg. Annual Salary
No Jobs Available
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Salary Trajectory

Software Engineer Career Path

$200K
$163K
$125K
$88K
$50K
L2
L4
L6
L8
Seniority Levels
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Important Skill Sets for the Software Engineer Career Path

Javascript
HTML AND CSS
NoSQL
Agile Software Development

Software Engineer Career Transitions

Your skills as a software engineer can prepare you to transition into related roles, such as software developer or front end engineer, which could open up different career paths for you. Below are the most common software engineer career transitions, along with typical salaries and skill requirements.

Software Developer
21% made the transition
2 - 4Years of Experience
$76,526Avg. Annual Salary
No Jobs Available
4/8Skills Shared
Front End Engineer
33% made the transition
2 - 4Years of Experience
$76,929Avg. Annual Salary
No Jobs Available
1/8Skills Shared
Full Stack Engineer
13% made the transition
2 - 4Years of Experience
$105,813Avg. Annual Salary
No Jobs Available
5/8Skills Shared
Web Developer
17% made the transition
2 - 4Years of Experience
$68,524Avg. Annual Salary
No Jobs Available
2/8Skills Shared