How much do Computer Programmers make?

With growing technology, people are working fast to pace up with the perpetual demand. Everything which has made our life easier and comfortable has something to do with computer engineering and programming. In simple words, it is the backbone of the modern technology era.

Computer Programmers shine in many aspects and contribute massively to the development of technology and computers. Many students decide to choose a computer programmer as their profession for ample of reasons, but some people vaguely know about computer programmers and are not aware of his fields, opportunities, perks, and salary. Many incoming freshmen or school pass outs do not know anything about computer engineering. These folks unknowingly enter into the programming profession at the age of 19 but can’t pace up with the skill and technical demand and quit afterward at their 30’s.

This tutorial will briefly discuss the computer programmers, their jobs and duties, the required skill set, and the pay scale offered to them. Before we jump to their salary packages, let’s focus on its definition.  

Definition of Computer Programmers.

Programming coding, you’ve heard these terms many times in your day to day life, but what exactly do they mean?

Programming means writing code and instruction for the computer to perform the computational task. Modern computers can perform billions or trillions of calculations in no time. But we also know that a computer cannot perform anything on its own. So there has to someone who can instruct the computer's step–by–step to perform a specific task. In technical terms, these instructions are known as the program.  

The people working on the program or the instructions or the line of codes are known as computer programmers. There are specific types of programs for different workflows. There are many languages to write instructions, unlike C, C++, Java, Python, etch. The computer programmer's profession involves refining the notions and unraveling the difficulties that arise while transforming the program into code. Writing is not only the only task. It also includes rewriting, debugging, testing, monitoring and revamping the program so as the computer works powerfully and efficiently.

Computers programmers do the problem-solving part by computing various logics and operational mathematics. Well, the programming is further divided into different categories. The programmers who are coding programs to manage the computer hardware resources are known as System programs. The people writing the code are known as system programmers. Some programs are designed to serve particular services or functionality to a user, unlike word, excel, audio players, and all these kinds of programs are known as Application programs. 

Skills one should pursue to become a Computer Programmer

It is said that “If your fundamentals are strong, you can learn different things and can rule away any difficulty in your way.” Well! The same applies to computer programming as well. Today, we have ample of programming languages in the market and many more yet to come. But, they all share one thing in common, i.e., the fundamental concepts. Believe it or not, but every programming language is developed upon the same though the syntax may vary.  So if you hold the fundamentals of any one language firmly, you can easily command other languages. But there are so many people outside who call themselves computer programmers but are unsure about the coding basics concepts and protocols.  So don’t go for programming just because your best friend is doing or parents want or because programming is a white-collar job. People who do that do experience success in their life and end up their programming career very early in age. 

Following the essential skills has one should pursue to achieve a successful career in computer programming:

1. The first step is to follow your passion and pursue a career that you are interested in. Once you have decided to choose the field of Computer Programming as your career, be determined and never give up. To experience a perpetual growth throughout, keep learning new technologies and be updated.
2. At the beginner level, deepen your fundamental concepts by choosing any one programming language you find comfortable and interesting. Because, in schools/colleges, you may learn different languages in different semesters. Be a pro and thorough at that language that you find your interest in.
3. Start solving problems and build a strong logic and problem-solving attitude.
4. Once you have held command over any particular language, enhance your skills by exploring the other languages. Don’t depend only on your school/college curriculum, because today, different platforms are available to train you in coding and programming language.
5. Learn any database and different wireframes. Practice to write coding regularly to grab command, practice debugging, texting, rewriting your code. 

Salary of the Computer Programmers

In any professional job, an employee's pay scale depends on the experience, caliber, skills, and opportunity.  Your personality and talent are the perfect duos at which your professional life depends. If you are good with logic, strong coding fundamentals, and a profound interest in solving problems, you will surely earn a handsome amount and quickly reach the highest salary summit. Although there are levels that are attained with time and experience in the corporate world, and as you climb up the ladder, the perks and pay scale also rises.  If you enter the professional world as a trainee or fresher, your wages would be low. You cannot expect a high-end salary. At that stage, your focus should be entirely on the knowledge and experience. With time and opportunity, you will be promoted to the next level. Thus, you will grow professionally as well as financially.

But in the programming world, nothing is constant as everything there is something new. To experience perpetual growth, you have to keep updating yourself with the latest technologies and skills because the old tools are getting obscure day-by-day. Thus, one requires sharpening the skills and always need to remain updated. In general, a computer programmer’s journey is divided into three levels, which are as follows:

1. Entry-Level Programmers: They join the workplace as a fresher who has recently moved into the field of computer programming as a beginner. These programmers pursue no experience, and most of them are the pass outs that either complete the diploma/ engineering/ BCA course or are in the final year. Some programmers have no college degree but have done some formal education. Initially, they work as a trainee and are under their seniors' supervision for direction, training, and task allocation.
2. Junior-Level Programmers: This is the second level where the programmers pursue some experience (ranging in between 1-9 years) in the coding field. There are sharper in technical and coding skills and are aware of the programming industry's norms and regulations. Any programmer who completes one or more years in the programming domain can be entitled to a junior computer programmer. Their pay scale boosts up as well as the roles may also differ from the entry-level programmer.
3. Senior-Level Programmers: As the name suggests, Senior-level programmers the highest level in the hierarchy where the seeker becomes an expert in the programming field. The programmers who seek an experience of 10+years are promoted with this post. All the innovative applications and evolving software are delivered to our society only by these expert programmers. They hold the utmost responsibility and face many challenges to deliver the right project in any organization. They are highly professional, dedicated and disciplined. Thus, the senior-level computer programmers uphold the highest pay scale among all the three levels.

Now as we are well acquainted with the Computer programmer’s levels and hierarchy, the last phase is to discuss about their salary package as per their levels. Salary package depends upon various things unlike country, location, workplace, etc,.

Following are the different salary packages for different level of programmers:

• Entry-Level Computer Programmer

As the entry-level programmers are complete fresher so they expect the minimum salary among the other levels. The average salary package of an entry-level computer programmer a starts from a range of 3,00,000 INR to 4,00,000INR per annum  whereas  in US pay scale of the beginners is around $52,000 per annum. However, few brilliant students passing from top university and with high coding knowledge are offered the salary package in between 8 Lac per annum to 10 Lac per annum.

• Junior computer programmer

The salary of the junior programmer group is diversified because of their skills and experience level. As per the survey, the average pay scale of junior programmers in India lies somewhere around 4,50,000 INR to 6,00,000 INR per annum. However, it may vary depending upon the opportunity, location, attitude, workplace and skillsets.

• Senior-Level Computer Programmer

As per the name, the programmers residing in this position enjoys the highest perks and pay scale. They pursue an experience of 10 years and above. Though they upload challenging responsibilities, it’s worthed as they own the firm's most respectful position. According to the latest survey, a senior-level programmer's average pay scale ranges between 9,00,000 INR to 20,00,000 INR (or above) per annum.  

Most students may feel encouraged by this tutorial and may decide to pursue computer programming as their career only by looking at their scope and salary. But it advised going for programming if you have an interest and are good at logic building.