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Software Developers: where your skills can take you

Research, design, and develop computer and network software or specialized utility programs. Analyze user needs and develop software solutions, applying principles and techniques of computer science, engineering, and mathematical analysis. Update software or enhance existing software capabilities. May work with computer hardware engineers to integrate hardware and software systems, and develop specifications and performance requirements. May maintain databases within an application area, working individually or coordinating database development as part of a team.

Most common qualification in Australia: a bachelor degree (56% of workers, 2021 Census) · Australian median pay for Software and Applications Programmers: A$131,900 full-time (Jobs and Skills Australia)

Job names and descriptions on this page come from the US government's job list (O*NET). Some use American words, for example "elementary school" for primary school.

Three moves that use what a software developer already knows

Ranked by how much of the job's skills and knowledge carries over. Each one says what the move usually costs in study.

Data Warehousing Specialists

Usual study level (from US data): Bachelor degree (uni — or check Cert/Diploma + experience pathways first)

🧰 Your current job already uses writing computer code, solving difficult problems, sound judgement and seeing how the parts of a system affect each other.

🎓 No more study. Your current level of study is usually enough. The most common level in the US is a bachelor's degree (78%).

🔎 Find degrees on Course Seeker ↗ (type the job's name there)

Design, model, or implement corporate data warehousing activities. Program and configure warehouses of database information and provide support to warehouse users.

Web Developers

Usual study level (from US data): Cert IV or Diploma (TAFE; if you have experience, recognition of prior learning can shorten it)

🧰 Your current job already uses writing computer code, solving difficult problems, sound judgement and working out what a system needs to do.

🎓 No more study. Your current level of study is usually enough. The most common level in the US is a bachelor's degree (50%).

🔎 Find courses for this job on training.gov.au ↗

Develop and implement websites, web applications, application databases, and interactive web interfaces. Evaluate code to ensure that it is properly structured, meets industry standards, and is compatible with browsers and devices. Optimize website performance, scalability, and server-side code and processes. May develop website infrastructure and integrate websites with other computer applications.

Computer Hardware Engineers

Usual study level (from US data): Bachelor degree (uni — or check Cert/Diploma + experience pathways first)

In national shortage — employers actively looking (Jobs and Skills Australia, 2025)

🧰 Your current job already uses solving difficult problems, sound judgement, seeing how the parts of a system affect each other and judging how well a system is working.

🎓 A degree. About the same level of study as your job, but in a different field: it leans on Engineering and Technology and on Design, which your job does not use much. The most common level in the US is a bachelor's degree (48%).

🔎 Find degrees on Course Seeker ↗ (type the job's name there)

Research, design, develop, or test computer or computer-related equipment for commercial, industrial, military, or scientific use. May supervise the manufacturing and installation of computer or computer-related equipment and components.

These are the three closest moves. The full list holds 24. Answer four quick questions — how much more study, which field, what you want more of, where you live — and the list fits you. Subscribers can plan any move.

See all 24 moves →Take the free test

What this list is. A starting point, not advice. Australian pay is shown where a job maps cleanly. Check any course or registration with the body that runs it.

Data sources and licences

O*NET 30.3 — This service incorporates information from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. JobMatcha has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

ABS ANZSCO 2022 Australian Update — Australian occupation tags are derived from the Australian Bureau of Statistics ANZSCO 2022 Australian Update correspondence tables (ABS, © Commonwealth of Australia, licensed under CC BY 4.0), bridged to U.S. occupations via U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics SOC crosswalks (public domain). Only high-confidence (>= 0.8) one-to-one chains are shown; other mappings are withheld as 'Australian data unavailable'.

Australian pay and shortage lines: Jobs and Skills Australia.

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