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Salaries for developers at top tech companies

07/26/2021

The average salary for a Software Developer in the United States is around $106,585 a year — but how do salaries pan out in the top tech companies? Despite their large teams and budget restrictions, most of them pay their employees competitive wages.

Developers at large tech companies also often get monetary perks, such as bonuses and stock options. Read on to learn what developers make at some of the world’s top tech companies and which of our courses you can take to rub shoulders with the big players.

Tesla

On average, a developer at Tesla Motors brings in $103,000 each year. While this is somewhat lower than the national average, developers at Tesla earn significantly more than those in the product department.

Tesla is a big company, and developers at companies of a similar size tend to earn a bit more than their counterparts at Elon Musk’s tech powerhouse. On average, developers at companies about the same size as Tesla bring in about $124,300, which is $21,000 more than the average above.

Still, the salaries for developers at Tesla vary greatly according to their specific roles. For example, a Lead Engineer earns $192,000, and a Principal Engineer is right behind at $186,000.

If you’re interested in working for Tesla, consider learning programming tools like JavaScript, Angular, and React, as each is listed as a requirement on their Careers page. To start learning any of these tools, use the courses below:

As we said earlier, a developer’s compensation includes more than their salary. 79% of Tesla developers reported feeling satisfied with their benefits packages, and 49% reported receiving annual bonuses — meaning nearly half of Tesla employees’ salaries are supplemented with extra pay.

IBM

The average IBM developer makes $101,857 a year. That’s just under $49 per hour or a little less than $8,500 a month. Still, salaries at IBM can climb far higher than the given average. Some developers make as much as $157,000, and the majority lie in a range between $75,000 and $122,500.

The variations between the pay ranges of developers at IBM may indicate there’s a lot of room for growth at the company. Developers may also earn more based on their skillsets, years of experience, and location.

Like Tesla, IBM lists JavaScript and React as prerequisites for their Software Developers — along with other programming languages like Python and Ruby.

Google

Google offers some of the highest average salaries for Software Developers at $156,806 a year. This number includes an average base salary of $121,898 and a hefty average bonus of $34,908. When combined, these figures bring the average pay of a Google developer significantly higher than the national average.

As with Tesla, the average pay at Google varies significantly according to the kind of position you hold. Some engineers at Google make as much as $430,000, for example. With a far less dramatic variance in pay, those in the IT department make $118,656 on average.

If you want to maximize your pay at Google as a developer, you should aim to become a Director of Engineers or Group Engineering Manager. Engineering Directors make $273,000, and Group Engineering Managers earn $252,000 each year.

On the other hand, even if you don’t quickly ascend the ranks at Google, you can still make good money. For example, a Junior Developer at Google makes $135,000 a year.

To pursue a career at Google, start by learning programming languages like Java and C++, along with the tools you’ll need to manage databases, such as SQL and PostgreSQL.

Microsoft

Microsoft, a longtime player in the tech game, pays developers an average of $108,650 a year — but this amount may vary based on where you live. For instance, Microsoft Software Engineers in San Francisco make more than those in other towns, averaging $133,378 a year. California is a Microsoft hotspot, with developers in Fremont ($128,037), San Jose ($125,066), and Oakland ($1223,699) rounding out the top four Microsoft developer salaries in the United States.

To rank among the top-earning developers at Microsoft, you can aim to become a Microsoft Architect. Software Architects at Microsoft earn an average of $133,585, and those in the position of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Architect earn $126,027.

Regardless of the position you may be interested in at Microsoft, your first step could be to learn C# — a language developed by Microsoft itself.

Facebook

Those with the title “developer” at Facebook make around $82,640, which is considerably less than many of the company’s engineers. This may be due, in part, to part-time workers developing for Facebook only a few days of the week. Facebook’s Software Engineers, on the other hand, make $102,030 a year.

Depending on the type of position you’re interested in at Facebook, you can make even more, particularly as a Data Scientist, where you would be looking at an average income of $105,231 per year. To shoot for the $105k+ salary of a Facebook Data Scientist, you can start with our Data Scientist Career Path. Here, you can learn the languages Facebook Data Scientists use on a daily basis, such as SQL and Python, as you discover how to gather, analyze, and present data.

The top earners at Facebook average around $138,500 a year. Like those who work for Microsoft, you have a better shot at making a higher salary if you live in California. Those in San Mateo ($100,380) and Berkeley ($96,871) earn significantly more than the average of $82,640.

No matter which tech company you have your eyes on — whether it’s one of the big guys or a smaller player — you can start preparing for your career in software development or advance in your current journey with our courses.

While the languages and frameworks listed above are a great place to start, you’ll also want to look through the job postings from your desired company. Once you know what they’re looking for, use our catalog of programming tutorials to get started.

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