National Occupational Classification (NOC): 21231
Fast Facts
- Average Pay: N/A
- Future Growth: N/A
- Skill Level: N/A
- Employment Size: N/A
- Unemployment: N/A
- Full-time Share: N/A
Sample Job Titles
- Application architect
- Computer software engineer
- Embedded software designer
- Embedded software engineer
- Software architect
- Software design engineer
- Software design verification engineer
- Software designer
- Software testing engineer
- Telecommunications software engineer
What do software engineers and designer do?
Software engineers and designers research, design, evaluate, integrate and maintain software applications, technical environments, operating systems, embedded software, information warehouses and telecommunications software. They are employed in information technology consulting firms, information technology research and development firms, and information technology units throughout the private and public sectors, or they may be self-employed.
Software engineers and designers perform some or all of the following duties:
- Collect and document users’ requirements and develop logical and physical specifications
- Research, evaluate and synthesize technical information to design, develop and test computer-based systems including mobile applications
- Develop data, process and network models to optimize architecture and to evaluate the performance and reliability of designs
- Plan, design and coordinate the development, installation, integration and operation of computer-based systems including mobile applications
- Assess, test, troubleshoot, document, upgrade and develop maintenance procedures for operating systems, communications environments and applications software
- May lead and coordinate teams of information systems professionals in the development of software and integrated information systems, process control software and other embedded software control systems.
Source: National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021, Employment and Social Development Canada
Software engineers and designers work in the following subsectors (NAICS) in Newfoundland and Labrador:
- 541 Professional, scientific and technical services
- 517 Telecommunications
- 519 Other information services
- 611 Educational services
Source: Census 2021, Statistics Canada
Short and Long Term Occupational Projections
Short Term Projections for 2023-2025
The employment outlook will be good for software engineers and designers in Newfoundland and Labrador (rating of 4 out of 5) for the 2023-2025 period.
Source: Job Bank, Government of Canada
Long Term Projections for 2023-2032
Software engineers and designers belong to the broader occupational group 21311, 21231 (Computer and software engineers). This group is forecast to be tightening (rating of 2.5 out of 4) over the next several years, meaning new labour supply will be required to meet anticipated job openings.
Source: Department of Finance, Occupation Projections (Summer 2023)
Number of Job Postings in 2023
During 2023, there were 7 public job postings for this occupation, with the following distribution:
| Avalon: 71% | Western: 14% |
| Eastern: 14% | Labrador: 0% |
| Central: 0% | NL-unspecified: 0% |
Source: Lightcast (note: data used in this analysis reflects new unique monthly postings which are totaled for the calendar year)
Who works as software engineers and designers in Newfoundland and Labrador?
During the reference week of May 2021, there were approximately 195 people working in this occupation in Newfoundland and Labrador. 85% of those employed were Male+ and 15% of those employed were Female+.
Here is the age group breakdown for this group of workers:
| 15 to 24 | 25 to 54 | 55 to 64 | 65+ |
| 10% | 90% | 0% | 0% |
Source: Census 2021, Statistics Canada
How much do software engineers and designers make?
Annual Earnings
The median employment income for all software engineers and designers in the reference year 2020 (195 workers in total, including those working part-time and full-time, as well as part-year and full-year) was $92,000.
Source: Census 2021, Statistics Canada
Hourly Earnings
Salary information for software engineers and designers in Newfoundland and Labrador is as follows:
| Low ($/hour) | Median ($/hour) | High ($/hour) | |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | $24.04 | $46.70 | $62.02 |
The following low, median, and high wages are for Canada:
| Low ($/hour) | Median ($/hour) | High ($/hour) |
| $31.25 | $51.64 | $81.73 |
Source: Job Bank, Government of Canada
Most Frequently Sought Skills from Job Postings (2023)
- Software Development
- Software Engineering
- Computer Science
- Python (Programming Language)
- Git (Version Control System)
- Emerging Technologies
- Technical Leadership
- JavaScript (Programming Language)
- Amazon Web Services
- Business Requirements
Source: Lightcast
What training is required?
- A bachelor’s degree, usually in computer science, computer systems engineering, software engineering or mathematics
or
Completion of a college program in computer science is usually required. - A master’s or doctoral degree in a related discipline may be required.
- Licensing by a provincial or territorial association of professional engineers is required to approve engineering drawings and reports and to practice as a Professional Engineer (P.Eng.).
- Engineers are eligible for registration following graduation from an accredited educational program, three or four years of supervised work experience in engineering, and passing a professional practice examination.
- Experience as a computer programmer is usually required.
Source: National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021, Employment and Social Development Canada
* Find public and private education, training and skills development opportunities in Newfoundland and Labrador here.