San Francisco is a premier destination for software developers and tech industry workers alike. The city by the bay sits at the forefront of the tech industry, just north of the heart of Silicon Valley. For tech workers, San Francisco is the promised land of their industry. San Francisco’s reputation as a tech metropolis with high wages extends to front-end developers, too. If you’re a front-end developer considering relocating to (or already living in) San Francisco, you can expect an excellent starting and senior salary in your field. In this article, we’ll cover the average junior and senior front-end developer salaries in the Golden Gate area, along with what it takes to become one.
Front-End Developer Job Description
A front-end developer is in charge of coding, designing, and maintaining the client-side operations of a website. Their job contrasts the work of a backend developer, who focuses on the server-side, ‘mechanical’ aspects of a website. As a front-end developer, you’ll work to convert the raw functional code of a website into a graphic, useable, and interactive tool. You’re in charge of what the website user sees and interacts with, so you’ll use your coding skills to make it work.
Front-end developer skills
If you work on the client-side of web development, you’ll need a solid coding background in languages like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. You’ll use your design skills to integrate a pleasing and functional user interface with the server-side code of a website. You’ll work closely with backend developers to create a useful and visually attractive end product.
Junior Front-End Developer Salary in San Francisco
Your salary as a front-end developer varies based on your experience. When you are brand new to the trade or have little experience, you’re known as a junior developer. Junior developers typically have less than five years of experience in their field, but still possess the skills needed to do the job. In San Francisco, a front-end developer with these qualifications makes an average of $101,447 annually! San Francisco boasts some of the highest salaries in the country, and a six-figure starting income for front-end developers is quite ordinary. Wages as a junior developer in this field range from just shy of $80,000 to over $140,000, depending on their company.
Senior Front-End Developer Salary in San Francisco
In this career path, your salary can increase exponentially as you gain experience. Most companies define a senior developer as a person with more than five years of experience, though individual companies have their own guidelines. In San Francisco, senior front-end developers take home an astounding salary of $153,321 on average. As we mentioned earlier, salaries can vary widely between companies. Luckily for senior developers, their low-end salary begins at $115,000 and tops out at over $208,000. With experience comes an excellent chance for pay increases; senior front-end developers typically earn over $50,000 more than their junior counterparts.
How to Become a Front-End Developer in San Francisco
In the past, front-end developers generally needed a college degree to get into the field. As demand for these professionals increased over time, colleges couldn’t keep up—so Silicon Valley responded with a unique education program of their own design. These new schools, called coding bootcamps, sprung up to quickly educate motivated individuals to excel in complex technology careers. Coding bootcamps last between three and eighteen months, and graduates learn all the skills they need to break into this lucrative industry.
In San Francisco, you can train to be a front-end developer in a matter of months. The San Francisco Bay Area is home to many coding bootcamps, such as App Academy, which immerse students in an intensive programming education to prepare them for a job in tech. App Academy’s full-time program lasts only 16 weeks, and local graduates boast an average starting salary of $105,000 annually! If you want to become a developer in San Francisco, click the link below and let Career Karma guide you to success.
About us: Career Karma is a platform designed to help job seekers find, research, and connect with job training programs to advance their careers. Learn about the CK publication.
