Surprise finding about software developer salaries in South Africa

Research by Offerzen founder Philip Joubert found that self-taught software developers earn roughly the same as those with bachelor’s degrees.

Joubert’s research shed light on the number of computer science graduates in South Africa and trends in the software development industry.

Joubert conducted the research after realising that little information existed about the number of South African computer science students who graduate each year.

His research and subsequent report included data from 2000 to 2021 across 27 South African universities.

He found that in 2021, there were 9,357 computer science graduates. “This seems significant compared to the 125,000 professional software engineers in South Africa,” he said.

It is noteworthy that not all software engineers study computer science. Many don’t even attend university and are self-taught.

That means the total number of new software engineers entering the market each year is significantly higher.

He further found that the number of computer science graduates has almost tripled since 2000. There was particularly strong growth over the last decade.

This is expected considering the increase in software development projects and the fact that software engineers are paid well.

Joubert said most computer science graduates leave university with either a diploma or bachelor’s degree.

Since 2000, there has been a 250% increase in master’s and doctoral graduates. However, this growth comes from a very small base.

There has also been a big increase in certificates from 2016. These certificates are mostly from two universities.

Qualifications and salary

Joubert’s research found that 22% of professional software engineers in South Africa don’t have any formal education. “At least one in five developers are self-taught,” he said.

The number may be much higher because many software developers have qualifications other than computer science.

It raises the question of whether graduates earn higher salaries than self-taught software developers.

The research revealed that self-taught developers earn roughly the same as those with bachelor’s degrees.

“At first glance, this may seem shocking, and you could conclude there’s no value in studying computer science. However, there is more to it,” said Joubert.

The types of people who skip university and immediately enter the workforce probably started coding while they were still at school.

That means they may have coded for many years before starting their first job. They are also industrious, which bodes well in the workplace.

The chart below shows the average developer salaries based on qualification (none, bachelor’s degree, and honours degree) and experience.