San Diego is one of the southernmost cities in California and is home to beautiful beaches, a massive naval base and many other military installations, and a growing tech industry. As is the case throughout much of California, tech workers enjoy high salaries and excellent job prospects in the area. Web developers are no exception, and they earn an outstanding amount of money just for living in or around the city. In this article, we’ll go over the average salaries for junior and senior web developers in the city, along with a great way to break into tech in less than a year.
What Is Web Development?
Web developers design, build, maintain, and update websites and online software programs. There are several subcategories of web developer, and each commands a slightly different salary. Overall, web development generally requires a strong background in coding, with some positions also requiring design skills as well. Web developers have extensive knowledge in certain industry-specific coding languages such as HTML, JavaScript, and CSS. Web developers usually receive training in college or a coding bootcamp, and much of their experience comes from on-the-job training at their specific place of employment.
Junior Web Developer Salary
Junior web developers are entry-level workers in their field, and they typically are recent graduates from college or coding bootcamp. They have enough experience to do the job, but not enough real work history to command the salary of a senior developer. Although they’re new to the position, they still earn an impressive starting salary.
In San Diego, the average entry-level wage for a web developer is $72,286 annually. That’s an eyebrow-raising starting salary, especially for young people. As web developers become more experienced, their salary can rise exponentially in just a few short years. Read on to see what a senior web developer makes.
Senior Web Developer Salary
Senior web development positions pay handsomely, but it takes some time to reach this status. Unlike junior web developers, people in senior positions have extensive work experience in the field. Most companies consider somebody a ‘senior’ programmer when they have at least five years of work experience in web development, but each company’s individual requirements vary. Some people ‘skip the line’ by obtaining an advanced degree in computer science from a graduate school.
In San Diego, the average salary for a senior web developer is $91,076, with an additional $5,000 in bonuses. This brings their total annual compensation to nearly $100,000, and top earners make between $120-150,000 per year.
How to Become a Web Developer
In the past, it was almost always necessary to attend a four-year university to become a web developer, with talented self-taught programmers being the exception. Over time, it became apparent that, not only could colleges and universities not keep up with the increasing demand for coders, the typical college curriculum wasn’t necessary to do the job well.
As a result, the tech industry supported the creation of specialized training programs called coding bootcamps, which prepare students with everything they need for the job. Coding bootcamps last between three and 18 months, and they’ve proven to be a direct route into a lucrative web development career. If you’re interested in learning more about coding bootcamps, be sure to click the link below.
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.
