The average software engineer salary in South Africa is R43,098.00 per month. In South Africa, software developers can work in any industry. The most rewarding jobs for software engineers are in the retail and customer service sectors.
The level of education a software engineer has, particularly when beginning a career, affects their pay. In comparison to an honours graduate with the same degree of expertise, a software engineer with 0–1 year of experience and a high school certificate earns an average monthly salary of R19,000.00. Honours degree holders earn an average salary of R25,000.00 per month with 0–1 year of work experience.
On the other hand, a high school graduate working as a software engineer with over 15 years of experience earns an average pay of R87,282.00 per month. A software engineer with an honours degree with more than 15 years of experience earns an average salary of R80,231.00 per month (Code Space).
This demonstrates how critical having a degree is when starting a career as a software engineer in South Africa. However, people with 15 or more years of experience can get the highest income offered by any organisation, and as time goes on, the industry salary scale tends to favour high school graduates.
In some instances, the level of experience in the industry matters just as much as education when determining a software engineer’s pay. We examine the salaries of software engineers in South Africa based on their level of experience in the industry.
Average Software Engineers Salary with 0-1 year of work experience in South Africa 2024
The average salary of a software engineer with 0 to 1 year of work experience is R291,000.00 per year. This is considered a junior-level position and doesn’t require any managerial experience or previous work experience. However, those who have worked on informal projects in prior years tend to earn higher salaries.
The lowest paid Software Engineers in this threshold can earn as much as R16,870.00 per month. These are normally new graduates with no work experience in the field or high school graduates with knowledge in the field. Salaries of Software Engineers in this threshold can be as high as R34,000.00 per month.
The salary of a software engineer at entry level will depend largely on the city in which they work. Cities in Gauteng are more financially rewarding in an effort to draw talent. In doing so, software engineers in junior-level positions can get performance bonuses.
Average Software Engineers Salary with 2-5 years of work experience in South Africa 2024
A software engineer with 2 to 5 years ’ experience can expect to earn an average yearly salary of R359,000.00. This average salary was determined based on 893 salaries for software engineers that required 2 to 5 years of work experience. The sum indicates an increase in the average salary of 18.9% for positions requiring 0–1 year of work experience.
Those with postgraduate degrees typically make the most money if they have 2 – 5 years of professional experience. A person with an honours degree in computer science can expect to make R34,879.00 a month on average. R29,938.00 per month is the average salary for undergraduates.
Those with incomplete degrees from universities are the lowest compensated. An average monthly salary of R24,362.00 is earned by software engineers with an incomplete university degree. On the other hand, software engineers who have completed high school generally earn R25,609.00 per year.
Average Software Engineers Salary with 6-10 years of work experience in South Africa 2024
A software engineer with 6 to 10 years of experience can expect to earn an average salary of R518,000.00 per year. The salary represents a justifiable average rise of 30.6%. A person with 6 to 10 years of work experience is considered to be at an intermediate level and necessitates some amount of management and supervision skills.
At this point, employment contracts include employer-paid health and dental insurance benefits. Employers might add additional contributions, such as pension and provident fund contributions, to entice workers to stay on the job longer.
Average Software Engineers Salary with 11-20 years of work experience in South Africa 2024
A software engineer with 11 to 20 years of experience earns an average salary of R690,000.00 per year. From the 6 to 10 threshold, the annual income reflects a 25% increase. In addition to technical expertise and experience, this role is regarded as a senior one and calls for management abilities.
Software engineers who fall within this experience range are eligible for annual bonuses of up to R70,000.00. At this level, commissions are also possible and can amount to more than R100,000.00 yearly. Additionally, profit sharing may be included in the agreement and may total up to R153,000.00 a year.
The average salary for those with only a high school education and no further credentials is R87,282.00. The average monthly earnings for those with incomplete university degrees is R85,905.00. According to statistics, those with honours degrees outperform those with high school diplomas and those who have incomplete university degrees.
Average Salary of Popular Employers for Software Engineers in South Africa
| # | Company Name | Average Salary |
| 1 | Standard Bank | R526,000.00 |
| 2 | Absa | R551,200.00 |
| 3 | Takealot | R458,153.00 |
| 4 | FNB | R359,493.00 |
| 5 | Amazon | R425,500.00 |
| 6 | HomeChoice | R491,707.00 |
| 7 | LexisNexis | R305,928.00 |
| 8 | Entelect | R453,463.00 |
| 9 | MIP Holdings | R308,925.00 |
| 10 | Kurtosys | R335,000.00 |
Conclusion
Given their importance to businesses today, software engineers are among the most highly compensated professionals. The possibility to work for some of South Africa’s most well-known organizations is provided by being an excellent software engineer, which pays highly.
