Back End Developer Salary:

Salary is an important part of any job. If you currently work as a Back End Developer, or if you plan to do so in the future, you probably want to understand the salary range associated with this job, and learn how to maximize your own pay. This article discusses some of the factors that influence how much a Back End Developer earns. These include your education and experience, the industry you work in, your location, and whether you have any special skills.

What is a Back End Developer?

Every website has both a front end and a back end. The front end is made up of all the elements that website users see and interact with. The back end is those things that users don’t see, but are essential to the function of the site. Back End Developers are responsible for building and maintaining the back end. They work with the server, databases, architecture, and application programming interfaces (APIs). Their job includes coding, designing, testing, debugging, and ensuring that the sites they create are secure.

While the work that a Back End Developer does is not visible, it is a crucial part of the online user experience. Some people call the back end the engine that makes the website run. It processes the requests that are made by users, and generates responses that it sends back to the front end. For instance, when a user adds items to a shopping cart, the back end makes calculations about the cost of the item, tax, and the shipping cost, and then sends that information to the front end where it is viewed by the user. A Back End Developer is responsible for making sure that all of these behind-the-scenes actions happen quickly and seamlessly. 

People have been working in back end web development since the creation of the very first website, which went live in 1993. Their jobs have continued to evolve over time in response to the continual evolution of web technology. For example, as mobile devices have become an increasingly popular way to access websites, the concept of responsive design has become important, where websites need to adapt to a variety of screen sizes and orientations.

What Affects Your Pay as a Back End Developer

There are a number of things that will affect your pay as a Back End Developer. If you want to maximize your earnings, it's important to understand all of these factors. In most cases, pay is influenced by your level of education, your experience, the industry that you work in, where you work, and whether or not you specialize.

Education

Education is not the only thing that influences your pay, but it can make a difference, particularly if you don’t have a lot of experience and it’s one of the only things that an employer has to look at in order to assess your worth. The traditional path to back end development has been to earn a college degree in computer science or a related field. In recent years, however, professional training programs like bootcamps and certificate courses have become popular, and some research shows that they are associated with high salaries. According to “Are Coding Bootcamps Worth It in 2024?” published by Course Report, an organization that publishes information about immersive technology information, coding bootcamps are definitely worth it when it comes to salary. It explains, “Most university computer science programs are four years long and you can expect your tuition to ring in at about $163,140. The average bachelor’s degree holder earns $59,124. On the other hand, coding bootcamps are ~14 weeks long and average $11,874 in tuition. And the average coding bootcamp graduate earns $70,698.”

Experience

If you want a high-paying back end development job, you’ll need to gain experience. It’s a good idea to start by assessing your existing experience; you might be surprised at how much of it is transferable. By assessing what you already have, you can also make a plan for what you need to obtain in the future. In an article titled, “How to Become a Back-End Developer in 8 Steps (Plus Skills),” Indeed suggests that you start gaining experience even before you get your first job. It explains, “Before gaining employment as a back-end developer, it often helps to gain some experience working on back-end projects. You can do this either on your own, as part-time work for a smaller company, or a volunteer organization. For example, you can create your own projects, such as a daily scheduler. Working on back-end development projects is often the best way to learn more about the process and can provide you with valuable experience before applying for your first full-time position.” Even if you plan to work as a freelancer, you’ll still need experience in order to demonstrate your abilities to potential clients.

Industry

Back End Developer salaries can vary significantly by industry. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is a federal agency that collects and analyzes job statistics. It reports the median annual wage for Web Developers in the top industries that they work in. It finds that for management, scientific, and technical consulting services this is $83,790, for computer systems design and related services $81,480, for advertising, public relations, and related services $79,200, and for educational services $77,840.

Location

Your salary is also likely to be influenced significantly by your location. In many cases, major metropolitan areas pay more, however, these areas may also have a substantially higher cost of living. BLS finds that the top-paying metropolitan areas for Web Developers are San Jose, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. The District of Columbia, California, Washington, Virginia, and Delaware are the top-paying states. According to a May 2024 article in Fortune, the top-paying states are Washington, D.C., Wisconsin, California, Massachusetts, and Ohio.

Specialization

Specialization can often lead to a higher salary if you’re a Back End Developer, however, the highest-paying specializations are likely to change over time. In an article titled “How Can You Choose the Right Back-End Development Specialization?” LinkedIn gives some advice for people trying to pick a specialization. It says, “One of the first things to consider is the demand and popularity of different back-end technologies and platforms. You want to choose a specialization that has a high market value, a large and active community, and a lot of resources and support.” In order to figure that out, it advises, “You can research the trends, statistics, and job opportunities for each of these options to get a sense of their current and future prospects.”

Pay Range for Back End Developers

The pay range for Back End Engineers varies widely. It is influenced by many factors, including those mentioned above. In general though, Back Development is a relatively high-paying field. According to Indeed, in the United States, the salary range for a Back End Developer is between $110,000 and $219,000 yearly. Glassdoor reports that the salary range is $83,000 to $145,000. If you’re just starting out, you’ll probably earn something on the lower end of the range, while if you have more experience, you’ll earn more. Unique specializations or certifications can also help you earn a salary that’s on the higher end of the range.

Highest-Earning Job Titles for Back End Developers

Back End Developers who have certain specializations and skills that are in high demand are likely to earn more. However, there are varied options on exactly what these in-demand skills are, and in addition, the list is constantly changing. In recent years, proficiency with cloud computing, APIs, and security have all become important. LinkedIn also reports, “Some of the most popular back-end technologies include PHP, Python, Ruby, Java, Node.js, .NET, and Go.” According to Stack Overflow’s 2024 Developer Survey, developers who can use Erlang, Elixir, Clojure, Nim, and Ruby are the highest paid. Another thing to consider is that certain companies pay more than others. According to Glassdoor, the top-paying companies for a Back End Developer in the United States are Meta, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and IBM.

Learn the Skills to Become a Back End Developer at Noble Desktop

Noble Desktop offers a number of different classes designed for aspiring Back End Developers. Its course options include in-person and live online classes, in addition to a variety of flexible scheduling options such as part-time programs and courses that run on weeknights and weekends. All classes come with a certificate of completion and the option of a free retake within a year. Noble Desktop is based in New York City, and is licensed by the New York State Education Department.

• The Full-Stack Web Development Certificate is a popular Noble Desktop offering. It covers both front end and back end web development. In this class, you’ll learn to code with HTML and CSS, in addition to learning JavaScript. The course also covers Node.js for web apps, MongoDB for working with databases, and Express.js for API development. Learning is project-based, and by the end of the course, you will have developed a portfolio of working web applications. The course comes with ten one-on-one mentoring sessions, which can be used for career support or extra help with challenging concepts. In 2024 it was awarded Best Full-Stack Developer Bootcamp by Forbes Advisor. 

• The Python Developer Certificate covers all the skills that you’ll need to become a Python Developer. In 2024, it was awarded Best Python Bootcamp by Forbes Advisor. You’ll learn the fundamentals of Python, and you’ll also learn web development with Django and Django REST. In addition, you’ll learn about object-oriented programming, how to work with APIs, and how to use Git and SQL. You’ll also work on a portfolio of projects and receive guidance from the lead instructor. This class comes with four one-on-one mentoring sessions. Students should have basic HTML and CSS skills.

• In the JavaScript Development Certificate, you’ll gain a variety of in-demand skills that will prepare you to work in web development with JavaScript. In addition to learning JavaScript, you’ll learn how to create web applications with React and Node.js, how to work with APIs, and how to incorporate third-party frameworks and libraries. You’ll also create a portfolio of projects. In order to take this class, you should have basic HTML and CSS skills. The class includes eight one-on-one mentoring sessions.

• Another Noble option is the Software Engineering Certificate. This is a comprehensive, multi-week course. You’ll learn about front end development, React Development, and Django (Python) Development. This includes learning a variety of front end tools including HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. You’ll also learn Flexbox and Grid for layout and adapting to different screen sizes, and Git for version control. As part of the course, you’ll create a working desktop application with React and deploy it using AWS. In addition, the course covers Python, including syntax, dictionaries, sorting algorithms, and custom functions. Finally, you’ll learn to use Django and Django Rest. Twelve one-on-one mentoring sessions are included, and you’ll also create a portfolio.

Noble Desktop also offers a number of shorter classes that only take a day or two to complete, where you can learn a smaller set of skills. For example, if you’re looking to improve your coding skills, Noble offers a short beginner class called Web Development with HTML & CSS, where you can learn to create webpages by coding with HTML and CSS. In this class, you’ll learn to use HTML to create webpages that have text and images. You’ll also learn to use CSS for styling content, creating centered page layouts, adding background images, style navigation, and for making responsive pages that adapt to various screen sizes. If you already know the basics of HTML and CSS, you might be more interested in Noble’s Advanced HTML and CSS class. This class covers a variety of advanced topics including SVG, CSS variables, gradients, shadows, positioning, transitions, transforms, and responsive images.