Java Developer Salary Worldwide Compared to Ukraine

Java programming language appeared more than 25 years ago. Language development began in 1991 as a technology called “Oak” and only in 5 years the language became known as Java. There is a version that the name of the language comes from the name of the coffee, as evidenced by the logo of the Java programming language. Java is incredibly popular in the whole IT sphere and, obviously, the demand to hire Java coder is pretty high as 25 years as well as today. Mobilunity is here to make the process of hiring Java programmer much more easier and faster by providing a sample of a perfect Java developer resume for you to know what skills and experience a real pro should have.

Java Popularity

If you visit any resource which affords statistics on programming languages popularity, then you will definitely meet Java at the leading positions. This programming language takes the first place or one of the leading positions. As a result of its popularity, you may see so many various CVs starting from junior and finishing senior Java developer resumes looking for a developer for hire. There is no doubt you will spend a lot of precious time only interviewing all candidates.

Progress of Java Development in Recent Years

Due to the high popularity of the language, Java developer requirements are growing, especially in relation to junior developers. Obviously, Java is still one of the most easily accessible areas of programming, but you can not go far enough without practice knowledge. The resource of TIOBE software quality company publishes index, which is updated monthly and shows statistics on the popularity of various programming languages. According to the service data, Java has long been a leader among other programming languages, although it is gradually striving to equalize the indicators with the programming language C. Java popularity is gradually decreasing, however, it will be in demand for a long time. Even after 25 years, there will be a huge number of projects that will require refinement and improvement.

According to JetBrains Dev EcoSystem research, Java is listed as 3rd regularly used languages reported by 51% of respondents and is ranked as the 1st primary programming language.

Judging from the fact that Java is used for both enterprise solutions and mobile development (there are over 15 billion devices running on Java), such kind of SW engineer will be needed for quite a long time.

Demand for Java Developers

TIOBE index shows that not only does Java keep its position as the most popular programming language, winning 16.9% and gaining 2.69% in popularity. Since 2001, Java keeps its positions scoring either 1st or 2nd place in the rating. According to the US Bureau of Labor statistics, software development and web developers are expected to increase in the numbers of required experts by 300,000 and 25,000 respectively (2016 forecast).

As for February 2019, Indeed.com has almost  70,000 job listings that included Java knowledge (compared to a little over 40K in 2016 and 60+K in 2017) in the United States. LinkedIn offers 20,000+ job opportunities in EU and nearby and has listed Java among the in-demand skills for software developers. These numbers do not cover Asia and other countries.

Java Developers Salary in the USA

Generally, the years of experience working with certain technology defines both level and salary rates. PayScale suggests that the USA market has the following ration among specialists working with Java.

Similar to developers worldwide, the salary of Java developer in the USA highly depends on the skill set, as well as years of experience. As one of the oldest programming languages (20+ years), Java developers typically have less experience than that. However, PayScale reports that approximately 2% of all developers have 20+ years of experience working with Java.

Salary for Java Developer in the USA

National average salary for Java developer reaches $73,085, which, however, can be different for certain states and cities. For example, if you look for ‘Java developer salary New York’ you will see that the median salary reaches $82,626, whereas Chicago will pay an average of $71,185 for the same services.

However, this comparison would not be full if we ignore the salary breakdown by level and skills of developers. Basically, there are 3 main developers’ levels:

• entry level (also known as a junior developer);
• mid-level;
• experienced (commonly referred to as a senior developer)

Entry-Level Java Developer Salary

While the national average salary in the USA scores $66,745, the diversification among major cities is thrilling. In New York, a junior Java developer earns around $77,956 annually, whereas their fellow colleagues from Seattle will earn $64,329, in Austin – $66,565, and Chicago $68,934 respectively. Here is a comparison between average annual compensation rates in the United States and its major cities.

As you can see, the highest salaries for a junior Java developers are offered in San Francisco, Washington, and New York.

In the analysis of Java developer salaries worldwide compared to Ukraine, the option of outsourcing to Israel emerges as a strategic consideration, offering access to a highly skilled tech workforce that can provide quality solutions, potentially at different cost points reflective of its innovative ecosystem.

Java Developer (Entry Level) Responsibilities

While the exact duties for a junior Java developer can vary based on the project or company, a typical list of responsibilities would include general activities like:

• Application integration through database design and server scripting;
• Establishing connections with network systems and info servers;
• Code production and bug fixing within the given scope of tasks and knowledge of the system;
• Following SDLC and contributing during every phase: planning, development, testing, support, documentation update.

Apart from typical job requirements, a junior developer is supposed to:

• Update their knowledge both about the technology and project they are involved in, as well as participate in the knowledge sharing;
• Contribute to the overall improvement of the project.

Among the skills that a junior Java developer should have are:

Knowledge of Java as a language and its extensions, platforms, and applications (Java Beans, Java Applets, Java Servlets). Apart from that, a deep understanding of OOP (Object-Oriented), SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle) and software requirements are must-haves.

Mid Level Java Developer Salary (USA)

In the United States of America, an average national average Java programmer salary is $82,219 which is close to the average salary in New York, Austin, and San Francisco. And while Chicago contributes to the decrease of Java software engineer salary with the rate of $75,583, Seattle keeps the salary of a Java programmer higher by paying an average $95,915.

Java Developer (Mid-Career) Responsibilities

Skills, that a good Java developer should have, include:

• Extensive knowledge of Java (including Java Applets);
• Web programming skills;
• WUID (Web User Interface Design);
• Software development process and SDLC;
• Object-Oriented Programming (OOP)
• Multimedia Content Development
• Software testing and debugging
• Teamwork, proper writing and verbal communication skills

Senior Java Developer Salary in the USA

While PayScale does not provide enough information about experienced Java developers, judging from the data we have, the ratio is close, as national median salary reaches $95,678 with New York paying only a little bit more – $98,338.

Experienced Java Developer Responsibilities

Apart from the traditional code delivery, senior developer can be involved in:

• Discussion over application of software architecture;
• Design of highly scalable system solutions that will improve functionality and performance;
• Team management processes;
• Deployment of system features and its maintenance;
• Testing of completed code modules;
• Code review, etc.

Senior Java Developer Skills

Apart from the skills that are essential for junior and mid-level developers, senior specialists should also:

• such SW developer should be able to coordinate development, testing, and debugging, as well as work closely with design team and foresee the implementation of Java projects;
• understand the software requirements (both validation and verification);
• be able to create efficient distributed applications;
• have experience with JAVA/J2EE/Spring, Oracle/MongoDB, Hibernate, as well as Web Services (for projects that require it);
• understand prime methodologies of development and project management.

Additional certifications can be helpful for projects that require sensitive data handling or below-mentioned qualifications:

• Certified Professional Java EE Web Component Developer
• Certified Professional Java EE Business Component Developer
• Certified Professional Java ME Mobile Application Developer
• Certified Master Java SE Developer

Additional Benefits

Apart from the salary rates, the thing to pay attention to is bonus rates. An average national rate scores $3,876 with total highest in New York ($9,237) and Seattle ($7,742) and lowest in Chicago ($2,200).

PayScale also reports that 81% of employees receive medical insurance, with 64% of respondents having dental insurance and 55% – visual insurance. Reportedly, 18% have no health insurance provided at all.

Java Developer Salary Worldwide

So the question is: how the salary of Java developer differs in the USA and in other countries. For this comparison we have chosen 10 countries that are commonly associated with Java development (both product-owning and outsourcing).

Okay, we understand that such data is hard to process at a glance, so we have decided to:

1. Convert everything to $ for a fair comparison
2. Lined it all up for clear better understanding.

We will discuss the average salary of developers in different countries, then focus on salaries for various levels (junior, middle, senior).

Average Java Developer Salary Worldwide

So, if we want to compare Java developer average salary in the USA and worldwide, here is a general picture of Java salaries.

Talking about average salary, Java developer is best paid in the USA and Switzerland (primary locations for product-owning companies), followed by Israel. As for other countries, Canada Java developer salary scores average $49,597 (C$64,928) and Germany pays $52,755.92 (€46,049). UK Java developers are paid the median £34,397 (~$44,990) according to PayScale, however, ITJobsWatch reports a significantly higher numbers. An average Java salary in London is even higher.

Java Programmer Average Salary by Level

As you can see on the graph below, the overall tendency is true for USA and Switzerland being the best-paid locations for Java developers.

Java Developer Entry Level Salary

As you can see, an entry Java developer salary in the USA and Switzerland are highest, whereas Qatar, UAE, Singapore and Belgium offers the lowest junior Java salary.

As you can see, Canada pays 32% less compared to the US rates, UK pays 39% less, and Belgium pays twice less than an average US company. However, Switzerland pays 23% more that US, and 38% more than Germany.

Java Programmer Salary (Mid-Level)

The overall trend remains the same, however, we can see that the difference for mid-career Java engineer salary is lower between Canada, UK, Germany, as well as countries that close this list.

Despite the similarity of the overall picture, one might notice that Israel pays only 4.5% less to the mid-level Java developer that United States, while Canada and United Kingdom pay 34% and 35% less respectively (compared to their 7% gap in entry-level salaries).

Senior Java Engineer Salary

With no data available for Qatar, the lowest salaries are in Singapore, and Belgium, with UAE, Canada, Germany, and UK keeping the median level when it comes to compensations for Java services.

General trend remains the same with Canada paying 37% less and UK 36% less compared to the average US salary, while Switzerland pays 40% more than their close neighbor – Germany,

Additional Benefits

Typically, Java consultant salary does not include any extra perks. Different countries will offer various benefits, based on their policies and laws. For example, in Canada more than 75% of developers report having healthcare covers by the employer (which, let’s be honest, adds a lot to the expenses on the company’s behalf). In Canada healthcare is covered for 74% of developers, for 79% in Singapore, and for 84% in UAE.

Apart from that, most countries pay bonuses that can vary from average $680 in UAE, to $1,879.79 in Belgium and $2,623.15 in the UK. The highest bonuses are paid in Germany and Singapore.

Freelance Java Developer Salary

The freelance market is filled with offers from developers. Let’s take one of the platforms as an example, and filter developers with at least 90% and higher success rate, fluent English speakers (for better communication) we will see that their rates begin at an average $40 per hour (up to $80-$120 per hour for some senior developers and architects), making it an approximate $40(per hour) * 40 (hours a week, average) * 52 (weeks a year) = $83,200 for mid-to-senior specialist (the lower bar). It means that freelance services are 13% more expensive compared to an average US salary. Moreover, the contract obligations cannot be applied to most freelancers, so one must be extremely careful.

So here is a math most business owners and CTOs hate: if the project estimate is over 2000 hours (and it’s just a simple web-project estimation), an average cost for Java coding salary reaches:

And it’s just salary rates multiplied by the number of hours (without any extra costs, like bonuses, included).

Let’s be honest, these numbers are terrifying. However, is there a way out? A lot of companies refer to outsourcing as their main salvation from the high cost of development. As one of the top outsourcing locations for development, Ukraine has numerous benefits to offer. So, why is development with Ukrainian part time Java developer so popular?

Java Developer Salary in Ukraine

Typically, when a company refers to outsourcing, they have a service provider (partner), who not only find the developer (or a dedicated team) on their behalf but also takes care of the additional expenses and details of the employment process. So, here is a graph that visualizes the difference in Java programming salary between Ukraine and other countries (mean value).

Java Junior Developer Salary in Ukraine

Entry-level Java developer salary reaches an average of $18,000* (with $1,200 to $2,400 monthly rates). This rate is almost 8 times less than average compensation in the USA, and over 4.5 times less than UK Java coder salary.

Salary for Java Programmer (Mid-Level) in Ukraine

Usually, mid-level experts are in the most demand, as they have enough experience to produce code according to the requirements, work without much supervision and have knowledge sufficient enough for independent involvement. An annual Java dev salary for this level of expertise reaches from $25,000 – $30,000* in Ukraine, which is 4 times less compared to Switzerland and 2.2 times less compared to United Kingdom rates.

Senior Java Developer Salary

In Ukraine, an average senior Java developer receives annual compensation of up to $51,600*, which is close to rates in Belgium and Singapore (however, does not cover additional costs, like rent, taxes, etc.) and is 2.2 times less than in USA and 1.4 times less than in UK.

Generally, Java software developer salary and Java web developer salary rates slightly differ based on the location and level of the developer.

Apart from having affordable rates, Ukrainian Java salaries can be well-predicted for the time of the of the project. Based on tendencies over the period of 7 years, we can safely assume that rates will either remain the same or will increase by approximately 2%.

*Ukrainian salaries are provided based on Mobilunity’s Recruitment Team research on the local job markets. All salaries are net and do not include the service fee (in case of hiring on a dedicated team model). The salaries are provided for comparison purposes and could be not entirely accurate. Contact us to know the exact cost of hiring a developer corresponding to the required parameters.

Java Developments Costs in Ukraine

Let’s take the same example as we used while discussing the cost of development worldwide. Assuming, we have a 2000-hour project, the overall cost with average rates in Ukraine can be 1.5 to 3.5 times lower compared to other countries.

It means that hiring developers in Ukraine, a company can literally save millions. If any business entity requires Java development for a more complex project, the number will differ even more.

While exploring Java developer salary trends worldwide compared to Ukraine, it’s important to note that the demand for entertainment engineer in the tech industry is on the rise, influencing compensation variations in different regions.

Reasons to Choose Ukraine as Java Services Provider

Apart from obvious cost efficiency, Ukraine has numerous other perks to offer:

1. Wider pool of experts. With the rising demand for offshore services, Ukraine has already rendered services to numerous companies and also invests in the education of new developers. Plus, having the talented SW engineer league the size of a small European country, Ukraine can help numerous companies, that are looking to hire abroad.
2. Adherence to international standards. For similar reasons, as listed above, Ukrainian developers comply with the top standards of the industry.
3. Lower overall expenses. Among the factors that define salary rates and cost of development, are rent rates, healthcare prices, and bonus policies. Ukraine has proved to be cost-efficient in these areas as well, which allows us to offer smart solutions to clients all over the world.

Benefits of Hiring Offshore Developers in Ukraine

The low salary of Java developers in Ukraine does not mean that their quality is low also. Ukraine has a big amount of highly educated programmers working with foreign companies worldwide, and cooperate with European developers particularly due to the small time difference.

Many offshore companies in Ukraine, such as Mobilunity, demonstrate an excellent educative level of developers of all kinds. Need to hire remote Scala developers for your new development projects? Do not hesitate to contact Mobilunity’s expert team.

Nevertheless, working with Ukrainian offshore companies highly educated developers is not the only advantage. It also saves a lot of funds. As you already know, the cost of java development outsourcing is lower due to low salaries, but also working with an offshore company from Ukraine, the customer saves time and money that could be spent on HR department, hiring and looking for the appropriate developers, the project lifecycle can be shifted due to other various factors that are more likely prevented by an offshore company in Ukraine.

So, to sum up here are the main benefits of hiring Java programmers in Ukraine:

Find out more about:

• Best ways to hire Asian developer.
• How to find reliable developers in Spain?
• How to hire developers in Norway?
• How to find outsource web development company in Hamburg?
• What is the best software development company in Canada?
• How to find offshore software development company Bangladesh?

Why Choose Mobilunity As Your Java Partner?

Mobilunity is one of the several companies that offer Java outsourcing in Ukraine. However, it is important that you understand what makes us different.

1. International experience. One of the major factors of our success is the worldwide network of satisfied clients within various projects.
2. Clear and honest pricing policy. We are proud to say that Mobilunity offers fair and transparent pricing policy that is competitive even within the Ukrainian market. We do not have any hidden charges or extra costs.
3. Ability to create the team according to the project needs. With us, you can hire a dedicated developer or compost any team needed for the project.
4. Prime quality according to the top standards and best practices. We closely monitor new trends and adopt best customs, delivering the high-quality code, as well as exciting overall experience from our cooperation to our clients.
5. Timely delivery even within the tightest deadlines. Before any development begins, we will discuss and agree upon the expected delivery dates and will comply with the deadline you set.

Offshore Java Development in Ukraine is a Good Choice

Java is one the most popular programming language among developers all around the world. It was one of the leading languages 15 years ago and it still remains one of those. Choosing Java for your project is a good decision, as it has many useful tools, and it is easy to find proficient SW developer and highly experienced Java developers all around the world. By the way, it is easier saving funds working with offshore companies from Ukraine if you need to find Java programmer or even hire Clojure developers.

Check out Mobilunity’s Java developer salary of Ukrainian developers right now!

Written by:

Anastasia Stefanuk

Market Researcher

Disclaimer: All salaries and prices mentioned within the article are approximate NET numbers based on the research done by our in-house Recruitment Team. Please use these numbers as a guide for comparison purposes only and feel free to use the contact form to inquire on the specific cost of the talent according to your vacancy requirements and chosen model of engagement.