1. What Do Software Engineers Do?

Software engineers are computer science professionals who use knowledge of engineering principles and programming languages to build software products, develop computer games, and run network control systems.

In the world of software design and development, a software engineer plays a key role. Software engineers use their knowledge of engineering, computer science, and math to write, edit, test, and debug programs. Tasks vary depending on the nature of the role but may include:

• Modifying existing software applications.
• Creating new software applications from scratch.
• Analyzing and designing full software systems.
• Using design documentation and flowcharts to illustrate what needs to happen.
• Working with software developers, designers, programmers, coders, and others to bring - things together.
• Keeping factors such as safety, cost, and deadlines in mind throughout the design and development process.
• Writing training manuals.

Software engineers must take this “big picture” approach when they oversee and design software. Instead of focusing on one part of the code or programming, software engineers need to consider the entire code and entire program during the design process.

To work as a software engineer, a person must normally have a bachelor’s degree or higher in computer science, mathematics, software engineering, information technology, or a similar field. Many companies will prefer candidates for this job who can show practical experience in programming and coding. Most software engineers work in an office or computer lab environment during regular work hours of the business week.

2. North America (US)

For US companies, hiring developers locally to work on a project is the most convenient and familiar option. On the one hand, you will not have to spend time researching the labor legislation of different countries. There will be no tax issues, and sharing a timezone will make collaboration a ton easier.

2.1 PayScale Data

According to PayScale - (also known as a salary structure) which is a system that determines how much an employee is to be paid as a wage or salary, the average base software engineer salary is $87,192 per year. Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $45.43 an hour. This is the equivalent of $1,817/week or $7,266/month.

Software engineer salary in the US largely depends on locations whether on the east, west coast, or in the Central States. Moreover, the possibility of a lower cost of living may be the best factor to use when considering salary for a Software Engineer role.

For instance, a software developer based in California may expect to get paid $119,000 whereas someone with the same skill set is likely to get paid almost 50% less in North Dakota. One exception to this rule is Texas, where salaries are comparatively high when benchmarked vs those States around them.

Top 10 highest paying cities for software engineer jobs in the US which is above the national average. Topping the list is San Jose. Oakland and Tanaina are close behind in the second and third positions. Tanaina beats the national average by $21,478 (21.5%), and San Jose, CA furthers that trend with another $23,449 (23.5%) above the $99,729 average.

Source: ADP

Significantly, San Jose, CA has a very active Software Engineer job market as there are several companies currently hiring for this type of role. With above 10 cities having average salaries higher than the national average, the opportunities for economic advancement by changing locations as a Software Engineer appears to be exceedingly fruitful.

2.2 Glassdoor Data

According to Glassdoor - an American website where current and former employees anonymously review companies, the average salary in the US by level:

2.2.1 Junior Software Engineer

An entry-level software engineer with less than 2 years of experience earns around $60,000.

• San Francisco: $87,798/year.
• New York: $76,265/year.

2.2.2 Mid Software Engineer

A software engineer with 2-5 years of experience would expect to earn the following yearly wage on average:

• San Francisco: $128,676/year.
• New York: $133,068/year.

2.2.3 Senior Software Engineer

A software engineer who has at least 5 years of experience earns the following on average:

• San Francisco: $175,669/year.
• New York: $167,816/year.

2.2.4 Lead Software Engineer

With more than ~8 years of experience as a software engineer you would expect to earn the following salary:

• San Francisco: $201,200/year.
• New York: $200,500/year.

San Francisco seems to have a higher total compensation which includes base salary, bonuses, and in some instances, equity within the tech firms. The bonus schemes will often go as high as 20% of the base salary in cash. Senior engineers will also have meaningful equity as part of the packages presented to them.

3. South America

South America is one of the ideal areas where American tech companies can lower their operational costs by outsourcing their tasks to more affordable candidates and less time difference which is usually within 5 hours.

3.1 Brazil

Brazil is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At 8.5 million square kilometers (3.2 million square miles) and with over 211 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area and the sixth most populous.

According to estimates, the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector in Brazil was expected to generate approximately 4.7 billion U.S. dollars in revenues in 2020. This would amount to a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 0.8% between 2016 and 2020. Thus, Brazil is considered one of the most potential markets for outsourcing

As a survey of Payscale, Software Engineer average Salary in Brazil is around $90,330/year or $7528/month or $47/hour.

• An entry-level Software Engineer (less than 1 year experience) can expect to earn an average total compensation (includes tips, bonus, and overtime pay) of $60,000 based on 5 salaries.
• An early career Software Engineer (1-4 years of experience) earns an average total compensation of $75,300 based on 66 salaries.
• A mid-career Software Engineer (5-9 years of experience) earns an average total compensation of $93,448 based on 71 salaries.
• An experienced Software Engineer (10-19 years of experience) earns an average total compensation of $115,124 based on 56 salaries.
• In their late career (20 years and higher), employees earn an average total compensation of $100,000.

3.2 Chile

Chile is a country in western South America. It occupies a long, narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Chile covers an area of 756,096 square kilometres (291,930 sq mi), with a population of 17.5 million as of 2017.

Chile has safety, stability, a skilled market and quality management capabilities, cultural affinity and similar time zones with the US market. The national BPO market bills some US$1 billion a year. Chile stands out as the perfect choice to provide support for your Spanish-speaking customers.

According to PayScale, the average software engineer salary in Chile is around $36,678/year or $3057/month or $19/hour.

• An early career Software Engineer(1-4 years of experience) earns an average total compensation (includes tips, bonus, and overtime pay) of $27,048 based on 15 salaries.
• A mid-career Software Engineer (5-9 years of experience) earns an average total compensation of $45,000 based on 14 salaries.
• An experienced Software Engineer (10-19 years of experience) earns an average total compensation of $38,000 based on 7 salaries.

4. Europe

According to Glassdoor, the range of salaries a software engineer might expect to receive varies widely across Europe. For example, an Engineer in Switzerland (highest major city) may expect to receive around €108,000 whereas a developer in Athens (lowest major city) may only expect to receive €26,000.

In general, software engineers located in cities across the UK, Switzerland and Scandinavia are paid the highest salary. Italy, Hungary and Greece have the lowest paid software development jobs.

The average salary in Europe by level:

4.1 Junior Software Engineer

• London: $34,853.
• Amsterdam: $40,654.

4.2 Mid Software Engineer

• London: $63,000.
• Amsterdam: $60,000.

4.3 Senior Software Engineer

• London: $86,350.
• Amsterdam: $86,000.

4.4 Lead Software Engineer

• London: $111,300.
• Amsterdam: $110,200.

From our analysis, across the various specializations San Francisco and New York have the highest average salaries, which is obviously offset by the higher cost of living in comparison to London & Amsterdam.

Software engineers in London and Amsterdam should expect lower salaries than those living in New York or San Francisco. Still, the market and compensation for these specialized talents have been on the rise in Europe, which has seen experienced software engineers looking to immerse themselves in the vibrant cultures of these European cities.

5. Asia

5.1 Singapore

Singapore is a sovereign island city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. The country's territory is composed of one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. Singapore today has increasingly started playing an important role that is also helping the nation to think big in terms of being a BPO hub in Asia.

According Payscale, average software engineer salary in Singapore is $57,241/year or $4,770/month or $29.8/hour.

• An entry-level Software Engineer with less than 1 year experience can expect to earn an average total compensation (includes tips, bonus, and overtime pay) of S$47,890 based on 185 salaries.
• An early career Software Engineer with 1-4 years of experience earns an average total compensation of S$53,983 based on 903 salaries.
• A mid-career Software Engineer with 5-9 years of experience earns an average total compensation of S$65,941 based on 388 salaries.
• An experienced Software Engineer with 10-19 years of experience earns an average total compensation of S$79,899 based on 105 salaries.
• In their late career (20 years and higher), employees earn an average total compensation of S$69,084.

Highest paying cities in Singapore for Software Engineers. Outtram is in the 1st ranked with $6136/month.

5.2 India

India has emerged as the world’s top software engineering consultancy hub, with a large number of trained and certified Software Engineers willing to take on several roles in this field.
According to PayScale, the average base software engineer salary is $7680 per year. Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $4 an hour. This is the equivalent of $160/week or $640/month.

However, different cities in India offer different pay packages. Some cities offer more than the national average while in other cities you are likely to earn less than the average.

• An entry-level Software Engineer with less than 1-year experience can expect to earn an average total compensation (includes tips, bonus, and overtime pay) of ₹414,601 which is $5617 based on 2,423 salaries.
• An early career Software Engineer with 1-4 years of experience earns an average total compensation of ₹516,494 which is $6997 based on 14,749 salaries.
• A mid-career Software Engineer with 5-9 years of experience earns an average total compensation of ₹911,090 which is $12342 based on 3,825 salaries.
• An experienced Software Engineer with 10-19 years of experience earns an average total compensation of ₹1,528,232 which is $20703 based on 777 salaries.
• In their late career (20 years and higher), employees earn an average total compensation of ₹900,000 which is $12192.

5.3 Vietnam

Software engineering is slated to be one of the most high-end higher salaries in Vietnam in the upcoming years. Salaries in Vietnam are usually discussed monthly rather than an annual amount.

According to a new report of Salary Explorer, a typical software engineer in Vietnam can earn about 17,400,000 VND per month ($766/month). The highest salary they can be given is 27,400,000 VND ($1207/month) and the lowest one accounts for approximately 8,370,000 VND ($369/month).

Compared with the average salary of other colleagues working in data analysis or information technology, the money a software engineer makes can be 2-4% higher. However, the salary of a software engineer in Vietnam is still lower than that of the foreigners. For example, with the same qualification and the same job, one can earn more than 95,000,000 VND in China ($4183/month), a quintuple who is in Vietnam.

Software Engineer average salary change by experience in Vietnam.

Source: Salary Explorer

The experience level is the most important factor in determining the salary. Naturally the more years of experience the higher your wage. We broke down Software Engineer salaries by experience level and this is what we found.

A Software Engineer with less than two years of experience makes approximately 9,800,000 VND per month ($432/month).

Employees with more than twenty years of professional experience get a salary of 26,100,000 VND per month, 10% more than people with fifteen to twenty years of experience ($1149/month).

Conclusion

In general, tech companies engineers in the USA offer better salaries than those in Europe and other countries, however, when we consider living costs, the difference is marginal. For example, education, housing, health insurance, and social security are significantly cheaper in Europe and other countries when compared to these costs in the US.

Software Engineers are paid quite well everywhere – be it in Vietnam or abroad. If you plan to build your career as a software developer, plan and make sure you follow the right path. Choose the right industry, the right set of skills, be more flexible and open to learning new technologies, and make sure you keep yourself updated with the latest industry trends.

As one of the leading Software Outsourcing Companies in Vietnam, Mobytelab will provide innovative, secured, scalable, cost-effective, and deliver high-performance solutions with a large pool of highly skilled software engineers. Our software development team is an expert in handling projects of diverse complexities. Contact us. We will discuss your business ideas and help you get better development solutions.