Can a software engineer make $500,000 a year? (2024)

FAQs

Can a software engineer make $500,000 a year? ›

Yes, but not all software engineers will ever reach that level of compensation. There are two ways to get a very high compensation in tech companies. The first one is to join a high-growth company in early stages, when the first employees are given a large amount of equity, and hope for a successful IPO.

In 2022, I interviewed at nine companies and received seven offers; several of them offered total compensation over $500,000. Here is a list of all the resources I used to prepare for technical interviews.

The salient point is that a $600k/year salary is uncommon or even rare even at FAANG. There are a lot of engineers who could work at a FAANG or FAANG-like company, but most of them will never see $600k/year in compensation.

It's completely reasonable to make Staff at Google after 6 years if you're good. Staff Engineers at Google make at a median of $450k (salary + stock + bonus) with about ~40% of them making over $500k.

In the USA, software engineers can get 80K to 400K a year, depending on their experience and company type.

Yes, but not all software engineers will ever reach that level of compensation. There are two ways to get a very high compensation in tech companies. The first one is to join a high-growth company in early stages, when the first employees are given a large amount of equity, and hope for a successful IPO.

With a $500,000+ income, you are considered rich, wherever you live! According to the IRS, any household who makes over $500,000 a year in 2023 is considered a top 1% income earner. Of course, some parts of the country require a higher income level to be in the top 1% income, e.g. Connecticut at $580,000.

Join a Big Tech company and get a high salary

One of the safest ways to becoming a millionaire as a Software Engineer is to climb the ranks of a big tech company. The FAANG companies (Facebook/Meta, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google) traditionally pay the highest salaries in tech.

Mostly here's how it works, As a software engineer, you'll make a living wage where ever you live. With even modest skill, you'll be in the top few percent; you'll be able to afford whatever you want — vacations, travel, family. You'll be less wealthy than a dentist, but you will have a life.

Can a data engineer make 500k? ›

DEs with 10-15 YOE should be making 500k-1M generally. In US at least. My previous job we were seed stage and trying to get 3-4 YOE DE at 250-300k TC (200k base) was extremely hard. Most people bail out once they hear the comp.

By some estimates, more than 900 employees became instant millionaires when Google went public in August 2004, and that total has likely ballooned along with the stock price. On Friday the stock closed at $600.25, up more than 600 percent from its opening price of $85.

What is the highest salary in Google? The highest-paying job at Google is a Devops Consultant with a salary of ₹248.4 Lakhs per year. The top 10% of employees earn more than ₹70 lakhs per year. The top 1% earn more than a whopping ₹150 lakhs per year.

200K is a normal salary for a true Senior in a company that is either tech-focused or very reliant on tech. Companies outside the tech hubs, or companies where custom tech only provides incremental value to their business, will certainly pay less, and salaries closer to 100K are actually not that uncommon.

While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $205,500 and as low as $63,500, the majority of Software Engineer 300K salaries currently range between $120,000 (25th percentile) to $173,000 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $205,000 annually across the United States.

By level 10 you're a Google fellow (there are only around 12 of these, so like a GS partner except more rarefied - although known as a "VP" in Google-world). And if you're at level 11 ("senior fellow" or "senior VP"), you're in the stratosphere with Google stars like Sanjay Ghemawat and Jeff Dean.

How much does a software engineer make? The salary range for a software engineer is $65K-$325K. The average salary for a Software Engineer in US is $136,274.

While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $205,500 and as low as $63,500, the majority of Software Engineer 300K salaries currently range between $120,000 (25th percentile) to $173,000 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $205,000 annually across the United States.

Software Engineering is a very well paid career field. It's definitely possible to make $200k as a Software Engineer. Salaries are very high, especially in the US, because venture capital puts so much money into startups.

Join a Big Tech company and get a high salary

One of the safest ways to becoming a millionaire as a Software Engineer is to climb the ranks of a big tech company. The FAANG companies (Facebook/Meta, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google) traditionally pay the highest salaries in tech.