Senior Front End Developer Salary

If you’ve made it to this webpage, you probably have a ton of questions about senior front end developers. What do they do? How much money do they make? Is this the right career for me? While some of those answers may involve some self-reflection, we at Career Karma can provide you with solid information about what it’s like to be a senior front end developer. Hopefully, by the end of this article your questions are not only answered, but you’re also motivated and on the right track to getting where you want to go! So, let’s dive in and learn everything there is to know about senior front end developer salaries. 

What Is a Senior Front End Developer?

You may have heard of back end developers as well as front end developers. These are two very different jobs, and for this article, we’ll only be focusing on front end development. So, what does a senior front end developer do? Regardless of status, a front end developer is someone who works to improve the efficiency and usability of a website. Front end developers usually work closely with UX/UI designers, software engineers, and back end developers. So, what makes a senior front end developer so…”senior”? Senior front end developers do all of the things mentioned above; however, they also oversee teams of junior front end developers. Senior front end developers will act as mentors to their junior front end developers and work to help them succeed. 

The Numbers: Senior Front End Developer Salary

Now that you know what a senior front end developer does, you’re probably wondering how much they earn for their services. According to Payscale, the average senior front end developer salary is around $114k per year. An average of 50% of the senior front end developers polled identified with this salary. It’s also important to note that many senior front end developers have reported earnings as high as $152k per year and as low as $81k per year. Remember, these salaries can vary greatly depending on where you live and whom you work for. So, a front end developer in Chicago may be making a different amount than a front end developer in Los Angeles. Current prominent companies that are hiring senior front end developers as of July 2019 include: Tesla, IBM, and PepsiCo. 

Skills Needed

Some of the most important skills a senior front end developer will need include JavaScript, testing/debugging, HTML/CSS, and version control/Git. These are just on the tech side. As a senior front end developer, you will also need to be able to manage a team and help mentor others. This will require great leadership and communication skills. You must be comfortable collaborating with others and communicating with your superiors. While some of those seem fairly obvious, really taking the time to make sure that you embody the skills above can definitely give you a leg up above the competition.

How to Get Started

So, if all that sounds good to you, you may be wondering how to get started. In order to become a senior front end developer, you must first spend some time as a junior front end developer. If you’re just beginning your coding journey, you should look into the steps it takes to become a junior front end developer first. However, if you already have a background in front end development, and you possess the qualities and skills mentioned above, then moving up the ranks is definitely an option for you. No matter where you are on your coding journey, Career Karma is here to help!