How To Become A Database/Application Developer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a database/application developer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted experts

Brian Glas,

Kevin Treu Ph.D.

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a database/application developer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $46.5 an hour? That's $96,711 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 21% and produce 284,100 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a Database/Application Developer?

Brian Glas

Assistant Professor of Computer Science, Union University

Build relationships: Different technologies will interest and challenge you, but throughout your career, you'll find that it's the relationships that are the most important. This is harder to grasp earlier in your career, but much easier to understand after 15-20 years.
Gain different perspectives: Spend time with people in other roles that your job interacts with, and gain a solid understanding of how they view things; this is most valuable for career progression and understanding of how your work fits into the big picture.

ScoreDatabase/Application DeveloperUS Average

Salary

7.5

Avg. Salary $96,711

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

4.0

Growth rate 21%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.17%

Asian 29.95%

Black or African American 4.42%

Hispanic or Latino 8.15%

Unknown 4.79%

White 52.52%

Gender

female 19.09%

male 80.91%

Age - 38

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 38

Stress level

4.0

Stress level is moderate

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.9

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.6

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a database/application developer

Explore database/application developer education requirements

Most common database/application developer degrees

Bachelor's

71.5 %

Master's

17.6 %

Associate

7.8 %

Start to develop specific database/application developer skills

Skills	Percentages
Web Application	6.41%
JavaScript	6.16%
Application Development	5.39%
Microsoft SQL Server	5.30%
PL/SQL	5.18%

Complete relevant database/application developer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New database/application developers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a database/application developer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real database/application developer resumes.

Research database/application developer duties and responsibilities

Develop an ASP.Net application to input and manage a production schedule, production statistical analysis and trend reporting.
Used HTML and AJAX technology for better user front end interface experience.
Create dynamic HTML documents as well as Perl and Bourne shell scripts.
Assist other developers in creating and debugging queries.

Get database/application developer experience

Generally, it takes 2-4 years to become a database/application developer. The most common roles before becoming a database/application developer include programmer analyst, applications developer team lead and database developer.

Prepare your database/application developer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your database/application developer resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a database/application developer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable database/application developer resume templates

Build a professional database/application developer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your database/application developer resume.

Apply for database/application developer jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a database/application developer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

Average database/application developer salary

The average database/application developer salary in the United States is $96,711 per year or $47 per hour. Database/application developer salaries range between $74,000 and $125,000 per year.

Average Database/Application Developer Salary

$96,711 Yearly

$46.50 hourly

How do database/application developers rate their job?

-/5

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

Database/Application Developer reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2019

Cons

Stressing and you have to keep always updated

Pros

Improve every day, a good salary, a lot of job opportunities

A zippia user wrote a review on May 2019