Database Administrators vs Software Developers
Software Developers earns $9,220 more at the middle. Every figure is US government data you can check.
| Database Administrators | Software Developers | |
|---|---|---|
| Pay in the middle median annual wage, May 2025 | $126,760 | $135,980 |
| Pay range 10th to 90th percentile | not published to not published | $82,460 to $214,670 |
| Years of school you pay for our own estimate from published entry requirements, not a BLS figure | 4 | 4 |
| Typical entry education | Bachelor's degree | Bachelor's degree |
| Jobs opening up each year | 7,300 | 95,300 |
| Growth by 2035 | 4.4% | 10.2% |
| People doing it now | 144,500 | 1,717,800 |
| Where the pay is highest and lowest state medians, not adjusted for cost of living or taxes | $135,750 in Utah down to $70,500 in Maine | $174,410 in California down to $95,330 in Mississippi |
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Jobs that use what you already know
Same skills, same knowledge, same daily tasks. Most of these are not on this site.
Database Administrators covers 3 separate job codes. “3 of 3” means 3 of those 3 name that job as closely related.
Database Administrators
- Computer Systems Analysts3 of 3
- Software Developers3 of 3
- Computer Systems Engineers/Architects3 of 3
- Network and Computer Systems Administrators2 of 3
- Blockchain Engineers2 of 3
- Data Scientists2 of 3
What these usually take: Usually a four-year degree, plus a few years of experience.
Software Developers
- Computer Systems Engineers/Architects
- Computer Systems Analysts
- Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers
- Computer Programmers
- Database Administrators
- Database Architects
What these usually take: Usually a four-year degree, plus a few years of experience.
O*NET 30.3 Database, U.S. Department of Labor. These are jobs that use similar skills, knowledge and daily tasks. It is a measure of how alike two jobs are — not a record of people moving between them.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational employment and wage data, May 2025, and employment projections 2025-35. Years of school is our own estimate from published entry requirements, not a BLS figure. State medians are not adjusted for cost of living or taxes, and that difference could be large either way. No advice, just data.