One of the great attractions to learning to code is the software engineer salary. How much can an entry level software engineer who is self-taught or has gone to a coding bootcamp earn in 2021? I did an anonymous survey recently to find out.
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Here are the salary locations mentioned in this report:
- North America
- Remote
- UK
- Some European countries
- Some Asia/Pacific countries
- Nigeria
San Francisco 💰
Due to the high number of startups in the area, you can generally get a higher salary as an entry level software engineer in San Francisco. If you have attended a coding bootcamp, you can expect to earn up to $94,000. You may even be able to get a six figure salary as a programmer given this is where the top tech firms compete for talent. You can check out the best bootcamps in San Francisco to attend on our sister site, Bootcamp Index.
If you are a self-taught web developer you may earn less than a coding bootcamp graduate. In our study we found that self-taught developers earned at least $63,000 in their first job in San Francisco. This is certainly on the low end of the scale though.
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New York City 🗽
New York City is one of the most expensive cities to live in the US. For that reason, software developer salaries are higher than average. If you have attended a coding bootcamp, you may be able to earn up to $150,000 for an entry level software developer job in New York City. You can find out the best coding bootcamps in New York City on our sister site, Bootcamp Index.
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Seattle ☔️
Seattle has lots of job opportunities for developers and is the home to companies like Microsoft and Amazon. You can expect to earn anything from $88,000 to $105,000 as a software developer in Seattle. Our study didn't show a discernible difference between self-taught and bootcamp salaries in Seattle. Here's an article from a Washington state resident who became a developer:
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Los Angeles 🏖
LA has long been outshone by its northern California rival, San Francisco and the wider Bay Area when it comes to tech jobs. Some notable exceptions have been companies like Snap moving to the Venice Beach area of Los Angeles.
As someone who is self-taught, the minimum entry level developer salary you should expect in Los Angeles is $60,000. Hopefully you can earn lots more, especially if you went to a coding bootcamp.
Read how this LA developer beat imposter syndrome and learned to code
Texas 🤠
Austin is doing its hardest just now to woo companies away from Silicon Valley. As such we can expect computer engineer salaries to increase in the next few years in the Lone Star State. For the moment, junior developer salaries are lower than on the coasts.
A self-taught entry level software developer should earn between $40,000 and $54,000. This is definitely on the low end of the scale and you may well be able to get more than this. Read how Kenneth is making six figures now while living in Fort Worth, Texas:
A six figure software engineer salary 3 years after learning to code
Toronto 🇨🇦
Toronto is Canada's biggest city and as such home to it's highest software developer salaries. From our survey, an average entry level software developer salary of between C$57,000 and C$65,000 is to be expected here.
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Remote entry level software engineer salary in the US
Based on our survey, remote junior software engineers can expect to earn at least $40,000 and $60,000 on the lower end of the scale. If they are working on an hourly basis as freelancers they may earn between $57 and $70. As remote work grows due to Covid 19, it may well be the case that you can earn more by working remotely on either coast.
Learn how Aldhair went from cruise ship cleaner to remote developer
Remote entry level software engineer salary in the UK
If you have attended a coding bootcamp you may receive a salary from £20,000 up to £35,000 as an entry level developer working remotely in the UK. You may be able to get stock options or bonuses in some positions. While some forward-thinking employers may pay you regardless of where in the UK you are working remotely from, others will tie it to local living costs.
This violinist became a developer after learning remotely
Remote developer salaries 🌎
Lots of companies have had to adapt to remote work very quickly due to Covid 19. As a result there is still a lot of debate about how much to pay remote software developers. Some companies pay remote developers based on where they live, as is the norm in recruiting.
Other remote companies pay a fixed salary regardless of where a developer lives. This allows the developer to explore different countries to live in, become a digital nomad or simply enjoy a higher salary than they would normally do locally.
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London, UK 🇬🇧
London is by far the biggest employer in the UK and that goes for tech jobs as well. Silicon Roundabout, London's answer to Silicon Valley, in the East End of London boasts loads of top UK tech companies and startups. Therefore, London commands the highest junior software engineer salaries in the UK.
A self-taught developer or coding bootcamp graduate in London can expect to make anywhere from £28,000 to £40,000 in their starting salary as a software developer.
Read how this London nurse became a developer
North of England 🏴
Developer salaries in the North of England are definitely lower than in London. Of course the living costs are lower as well so this is to be expected. A junior software developer salary in northern cities like Manchester and Leeds is between £24,000 and £30,000.
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Scotland 🥃
Scotland has a small tech scene but boasts the occasional unicorn like everyone's favourite flight checker, Skyscanner. As living costs are a lot lower than in London, you can expect a correspondingly lower entry level salary here as a web developer. You'll also likely earn more as a software developer in Edinburgh than in Glasgow.
If you are self-taught you may expect a salary around £18,000 or a little higher. In bigger companies, which often recruit more from coding bootcamps, you can earn in the region of £25,000 as your first salary.
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Berlin 🇩🇪
Berlin is the best city in Germany for developer jobs. It boasts a buzzing tech scene with lots of entrepreneurs moving here to take advantage of cheap rents, a high number of developers and of course great nightlife. Berlin has many great tech companies including music streaming service, Soundcloud. Someone starting out in their coding career in Berlin can expect a software engineer salary of between €32,000 and €50,000.
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Paris 🇫🇷
Paris has a buzzing startup scene and the country's president has been keen to get more companies to move to France. The famous Station F is the world's biggest incubator for startups. A junior software engineer who is self-taught can earn about €30,000 in Paris.
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The Netherlands 🇳🇱
A developer starting out in The Netherlands may earn about €30,000 per year. As Amsterdam is the capital, has the most jobs and is a more expensive place to live, you should be able to earn the most here.
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Austria 🇦🇹
A self-taught developer starting out in Vienna can earn between €30,000 and €40,000 salary as an entry level software developer.
Learn how Richard earned $15,000 per month from rural Austria
Melbourne 🇦🇺
Melbourne regularly tops the list of the world's best cities to live in. With a beguiling array of coffee shops and a great cultural scene, it's an obvious place for software developers to live in Australia. Junior software engineers can expect to earn anything from A$60,000 to A$90,000 in Melbourne.
This Melbourne developer's business makes $10,000 a month
Malaysia 🇲🇾
The average junior developer salary in Malaysia is 3000-3500 MYR ($740-860) a month or 36,000-42,000 MYR ($8-$10,000) a year.
Indonesia 🇮🇩
A junior developer who has attended a coding bootcamp in Indonesia can expect to earn IDR 42m a year. This is about $3,000.
Nigeria 🇳🇬
In Nigeria an entry level computer developer can earn approximately 1,000,000 NGR per year. This is about $2,626.
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