Infograph: The programming languages and job types that pay the highest wages

Software developers are some of highest paid professionals in the United States, seeing a 22% increased job outlook between 2012 and 2022, sayeth the holy gospel of the Bureau of Labor Statistics . The growing precedence of technology and big data statistics has created a demand for this unique skillset in virtually every industry, making the field very attractive for those seeking opportunity and mobility. But like engineering, the field itself employs a remarkable number of specializations, and pay gradient differs quite a bit depending on programming language you specialize in.

To sort this data in a very easy to read format, analytics company Compass compiled a colorful infograph using data snagged from Glassdoor, Angellist, and Payscale, as well as from the Elance-oDesk and Toptal Freelancer portals and surveys of startup executives and software engineers. 

The end result compares salary based on the specific programming language associated with each role: frontend or backend development. It also distinguishes between salary earned based on the company type — startup, traditional IT firm, or freelancer/consultant — in addition to the company size and years of experience.

It should come as no surprise that the top earners are those specializing in the backend programming languages such as C++, Python, or as an Amazon Web Services admin. Web-based programming languages like CSS, PHP, and JavaScript fell toward the lower end of the spectrum.

A few points of contention: the salary listings represent an average that can skew in either direction depending on the geography of the position list, and the infograph does not further distinguish salaries by a per-location basis. Instead, it extrapolates a general salary based on region.

Secondly, the Compass’ data slighty differs from a study published by Quartz examining data from Burning Glass with Brookings Institution economist Jonathan Rothwell. The study points out that Objective-C’s average salary ranges approximately $15,000 above C++, while Compass’ infograph places the highest value on C++. In reality, those familiar with Objective-C should have a fundamental understanding of C++ too.

Source: Business Insider