Software Engineer Job Search Tips & Best Practices

Software engineering has become an in-demand career in recent years and is expected to continue experiencing strong job growth. As a result, you may be able to find a job as a Software Engineer no matter where you live. In addition, some Software Engineers work as freelancers, and as a freelancer, you can work from any location they choose. However, despite the fact that software engineering jobs exist all over the country, statistics show that they are much more heavily concentrated in certain areas. This article is intended to help you focus your job search, and lists the cities that are most likely to have open software engineering jobs.

New York

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is a federal agency that gathers and analyzes job statistics. It includes Software Engineers in the category of Software Developer. It reports hat the New York metropolitan area has the highest level of employment for Software Developers in the United States, employing almost 120,000 people. This city also tops the list for employment in a number of other related categories including Computer Network Architects, Computer Programmers, and Web Developers. NYC International Business calls New York City, “the fastest-growing tech hub in the United States.” It finds that over the past ten years, there has been an 18 percent growth in jobs in the tech sector.

San Jose

According to BLS, the San Jose metropolitan area employs more than 96,000 Software Engineers, making it the location with the second-largest level of employment for this field in the United States. Many of this city’s major employers are tech companies. As reported on the City of San Jose’s website, “San José’s . . . [has] one of the largest concentrations of technology companies and expertise in the world, including major tech headquarters like Cisco, Adobe, Zoom, Samsung, and eBay as well as start-ups and advanced manufacturing.”

San Francisco

San Francisco employs almost 84,000 Software Developers, according to BLS, making it the third-largest employer among U.S. metropolitan areas. Tech has been an important part of San Francisco’s economy for a long time. In an article titled, “The 25 Best Tech Companies in San Francisco to Work for – A Flatiron School Guide,” Flatiron School reports, “For the past three decades, the Bay Area has been the hub for technology-driven economic growth in the US. Silicon Valley is home to some of the most prominent companies in the world including Apple, Google, Facebook, and Intel. At the same time, San Francisco is widely considered the most important region in the world for new technology startups and venture capital.” According to CBRE’s 2023 Scoring Tech Talent Report, San Francisco has the top market for Software Engineers employed in the tech industry. 

Seattle

Seattle employs more than 75,000 Software Engineers, according to data provided by BLS. This city is a major tech hub. The City of Seattle's website states, “Seattle is a global leader in technology and innovation, with decades-long history of being at the helm of software, retail/ecommerce, gaming, and new emerging technologies such as AI, machine learning, and AR/VR.” According to CBRE’s 2023 Scoring Tech Talent Report, Seattle ranks number two among the Top Ten Markets for Software Engineers Employed in the Tech Industry.

Washington, D.C.

BLS reports that the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area employs about 72,000 Software Developers, which makes it the fifth largest employer when compared with other U.S. metropolitan areas. Washington, D.C. is well known for its tech scene, and is often mentioned as one of the top tech markets in the country. For example, the Washington, D.C. Economic Partnership ranks it as the third-best city in the nation for tech, stating, “Washington, D.C. tech companies are engineering the next digital revolution in one of the hottest East Coast tech hubs,” and calls it, “the nation’s third-best city for tech.”

Software Engineer Salary and Job Outlook

Software engineering is an in-demand skill that is needed in many different careers, and it has a strong future outlook. BLS predicts that between 2022 and 2032, software development jobs will grow by 25 percent, which is significantly faster than the average rate of only about 3 percent. It explains, “Increased demand for software developers . . . will stem from the continued expansion of software development for artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, and other automation applications.” In addition, it says that an increasing need for security will drive growth in this field, as well as the continually increasing number of products that use software. According to BLS, there will be more than 153,000 openings for Software Developers, Quality Assurance Analysts, and Testers each year over the next ten years.

Media pay for this profession is about $130,000, as reported by BLS, which is far higher than the national average for all jobs, which is about $48,000. According to BLS, the San Jose area is the top-paying metropolitan area in the United States for Software Developers, with an annual mean wage of almost $200,000. The agency ranks the San Francisco area third, with a median salary of about $181,000, and Seattle fourth, with approximately $164,000.

Learn the Skills to Become a Software Engineer at Noble Desktop

If you want to learn the skills you’ll need to become a Software Engineer, you’ll find a variety of class options at Noble Desktop. This New York City-based design and coding school offers both in-person and live online courses. It also has a variety of flexible scheduling options including part-time programs and courses that run on weeknights and weekends. All Noble Desktop classes come with the option of a free retake within one year, which is a great way to refresh your skills and gain additional practice. Noble Desktop is licensed by the New York State Education Department.

• One popular 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. The program also covers JavaScript, and the JavaScript library, React. 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 shorter classes that only take a day or two to complete and focus on a more narrow set of skills. For instance, if you’re looking for a class where you can 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.

Noble Desktop also offers many bootcamps. For instance, there is a React Development Bootcamp, where you’ll learn how to build web applications with React. This course begins by covering basics including how to compose components. Throughout the course, you’ll build a number of web applications. You’ll also deploy them using Amazon Web Services. Another Bootcamp option is Python Web Development with Django, which covers URL dispatchers, querying models, and automating tasks with Django.