 | The examples and perspective in this United States may not represent a worldwide view of the subject.(September 2021) |
Software engineers make up a significant portion of the global workforce. As of 2022, there are an estimated 26.9 million professional software engineers worldwide, up from 21 million in 2016. [1] [2]
In 2023, there were an estimated 1.6 million [3] professional software developers in North America. There are 166 million people [4] employed in the US workforce, making software developers 0.96% of the total workforce.
 | This article needs to be updated.(May 2021) |
| Role | # | SE title | # | TE title | Ratio of SE to TE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Practitioners | 611,900 | Software engineers | 1,157,020 | Traditional engineers | 53% |
| Managers | 264,790 | Computer and information systems managers | 413,750 | Engineering managers + construction managers | 64% |
| Educators | 16,495 | Computer science (practical) | 29,310 | Engineering teachers | 56% |
| Technicians | 457,320 | Computer programmers | 516,170 | Engineering technicians | 88% |
The following two tables compare the number of software engineers (611,900 in 2002) versus the number of traditional engineers (1,157,020 in 2002).
There are another 1,500,000 people in system analysis, system administration, and computer support, many of whom might be called software engineers. Many systems analysts manage software development teams, and as analysis is an important software engineering role, many of them may be considered software engineers in the near future. This means that the number of software engineers may actually be much higher.
It is important to note that the number of software engineers declined by 5 to 10 percent from 2000 to 2002.
| Code | Description | Number (2002) | Hourly pay (2002) | Annual salary (2002) | Number (2021) | Mean hourly pay (2021) | Mean annual salary (2021) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15-1031 | Software eng., applications | 356,760 | $34.09 | $35.48 | $73,800 | 0.7 % | |||
| 15-1032 | Software eng., systems software | 255,040 | $35.60 | $36.46 | $75,840 | 0.6 % | |||
| 17-2011 | Aerospace engineers [9] | 74,210 | $34.97 | $35.63 | $74,110 | 1.1 % | 56,640 | $ 59.12 | $ 122,970 |
| 17-2021 | Agricultural engineers [10] | 2,500 | $24.38 | $26.79 | $55,730 | 2.9 % | 1,120 | $ 41.99 | $ 87,350 |
| 17-2031 | Biomedical engineers [11] | 7,130 | $29.04 | $30.97 | $64,420 | 1.7 % | 17,190 | $ 48.57 | $ 101,020 |
| 17-2041 | Chemical engineers [12] | 32,110 | $34.85 | $36.06 | $75,010 | 1.0 % | 24,180 | $ 58.58 | $ 121,840 |
| 17-2051 | Civil engineers [13] | 207,480 | $28.88 | $30.29 | $63,010 | 0.4 % | 304,310 | $ 45.91 | $ 95,490 |
| 17-2061 | Computer hardware engineers [14] | 67,180 | $34.69 | $36.61 | $76,150 | 1.1 % | 73,750 | $ 65.50 | $ 136,230 |
| 17-2071 | Electrical engineers [15] | 146,180 | $32.78 | $33.88 | $70,480 | 0.4 % | 186,020 | $ 51.87 | $ 107,890 |
| 17-2072 | Electronics eng., exc. computer [16] | 126,020 | $33.62 | $34.43 | $71,600 | 0.6 % | 107,170 | $ 55.53 | $ 115,490 |
| 17-2081 | Environmental engineers [17] | 45,720 | $29.52 | $30.50 | $63,440 | 0.7 % | 42,660 | $ 48.18 | $ 100,220 |
| 17-2111 | Health and safety, exc. mining [18] | 34,160 | $27.89 | $28.77 | $59,830 | 0.7 % | 22,870 | $ 47.93 | $ 99,700 |
| 17-2112 | Industrial engineers [19] | 151,760 | $29.88 | $30.57 | $63,590 | 0.3 % | 293,950 | $ 45.77 | $ 95,200 |
| 17-2121 | Marine eng., naval architects [20] | 4,810 | $32.04 | $32.83 | $68,280 | 2.2 % | 7,380 | $ 47.03 | $ 97,820 |
| 17-2131 | Materials engineers [21] | 22,780 | $30.09 | $30.92 | $64,310 | 1.0 % | 21,530 | $ 49.02 | $ 101,950 |
| 17-2141 | Mechanical engineers [22] | 203,620 | $30.23 | $31.33 | $65,170 | 0.4 % | 278,240 | $ 46.64 | $ 97,000 |
| 17-2151 | Mining and geological eng. [23] | 5,050 | $29.70 | $31.14 | $64,770 | 2.4 % | 7,370 | $ 48.29 | $ 100,450 |
| 17-2161 | Nuclear engineers [24] | 15,180 | $39.11 | $39.57 | $82,300 | 1.3 % | 12,670 | $ 58.54 | $ 121,760 |
| 17-2171 | Petroleum engineers [25] | 11,130 | $40.08 | $41.13 | $85,540 | 1.4 % | 22,100 | $ 70.06 | $ 145,720 |
Computer and information system managers (264,790) manage software projects, as well as computer operations. Similarly, Construction and engineering managers (413,750) oversee engineering projects, manufacturing plants, and construction sites. Computer management is 64% the size of construction and engineering management.
| Code | Description | Number | Hourly pay | Annual salary | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11-3021 | Computer and information systems managers | 264,790 | $40.98 | $43.48 | $90,440 | 0.3% |
| 11-9021 | Construction managers | 208,360 | $30.53 | $34.24 | $71,210 | 0.7% |
| 11-9041 | Engineering managers | 205,390 | $43.71 | $46.03 | $95,750 | 0.3% |
[ citation needed ]
 | This section's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia.(January 2014) |
Most people working in the field of computer science, whether making software systems (software engineering) or studying the theoretical and mathematical facts of software systems (computer science), acquire degrees in computer science. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2023 data), there were approximately 44,800 postsecondary computer science teachers and 50,300 engineering teachers, indicating that the computer science educator workforce is nearly 89% as large as that of engineering educators. The combined number of postsecondary chemistry (25,400) and physics (17,100) teachers totaled 42,500, slightly less than the number of computer science educators. [26]
| Code | Description | Number | Hourly pay | Annual salary | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25-1021 | Computer science teachers, postsecondary | 32,990 | (4) | (4) | $55,330 | 1.1% |
| 25-1032 | Engineering teachers, postsecondary | 29,310 | (4) | (4) | $73,100 | 1.3% |
| 25-1052 | Chemistry teachers, postsecondary | 17,670 | (4) | (4) | $60,800 | 1.3% |
| 25-1054 | Physics teachers, postsecondary | 11,940 | (4) | (4) | $66,960 | 1.0 |
[ citation needed ]
| Code | Description | Number | Hourly pay | Annual salary | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15-1051 | Computer systems analysts | 467,750 | $30.24 | $31.20 | $64,890 | 0.5% |
| 15-1041 | Computer support specialists | 478,560 | $18.80 | $20.35 | $42,320 | 0.5% |
| 15-1061 | Database administrators | 102,090 | $26.68 | $28.41 | $59,080 | 0.5% |
| 15-1071 | Network and computer systems administrators | 232,560 | $26.35 | $27.70 | $57,620 | 0.4% |
| 15-1081 | Network systems and data communications analysts | 133,460 | $28.09 | $29.51 | $61,390 | 0.6% |
| 17-3011 | Architectural and civil drafters | 101,190 | $17.95 | $18.78 | $39,060 | 0.6% |
| 17-3012 | Electrical and electronics drafters | 35,470 | $19.76 | $21.16 | $44,020 | 0.8% |
| 17-3013 | Mechanical drafters | 68,280 | $19.58 | $20.71 | $43,080 | 0.9% |
[ citation needed ]
Software engineers are part of the much larger software, hardware, application, and operations community. In 2000 in the U.S., there were about 680,000 software engineers and about 10,000,000 IT workers. As of early 2025, there are an estimated 47.2 million software developers worldwide, representing a 50% increase from 31 million in Q1 2022. [27]
There are no numbers on testers in the BLS data.[ citation needed ]
There has been a healthy growth in the number of India's IT professionals over the past few years. From a base of 6,800 knowledge workers in 1985–86, the number increased to 522,000 software and services professionals by the end of 2001–02. It is estimated that out of these 528,000 knowledge workers, almost 170,000 are working in the IT software and services export industry; nearly 106,000 are working in the IT enabled services and over 230,000 in user organizations. [28]
In May 2024, the Australian government reported that 169,300 Australians are employed as software and applications programmers, 17% of who are women. The role grew annually by 8,300 workers. [29]
According to the Russian government, the number of IT specialists in the country increased by 13% in 2023, reaching approximately 857,000. [30] During the initial phase of the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, an estimated 100,000 IT specialists left Russia. [31]