Software Engineering is one of the most lucrative career options the job market in India has to offer. On an average a software engineer can earn around INR 192,852 - INR 698,055, with variations based on work experience, expertise, field of work, sex etc. Before going to further details regarding their remunerations it is however imperative to mention that the extraordinary pay packets designed for software engineers are triggered by the demand for these professionals in major industries like information technology, Insurance, Financial Services, Banking etc.
Growing experience in the field is usually rewarded by increase in average salaries for employees:
Job Category | Experience | Average Annual Salaries |
|---|---|---|
| Principal Software Engineer | 1-4 years | INR 487,000 – INR 1,600,000 |
| 5-9 years | INR 610,231 – INR 1,755,970 | |
| 10-19 years | INR 1,018,224 – INR 2,996,666 | |
| Associate Software Engineer | Less than a year | INR 182,746 – INR 384,722 |
| 1-4 years | INR 175,083 – INR 548,532 | |
| 5-9 years | INR 401,345 – INR 948,799 | |
| 10-19 years | INR 610,419 – INR 1,220,838 | |
| Software Engineer/Programmer/Developer | Less than a year | INR 106,523 – INR 405,470 |
| 1-4 years | INR 164,279 – INR 552,803 | |
| 5-9 years | INR 271,240 – INR 1,013,674 | |
| 10-19 years | INR 480,000 – INR 2,000,000 | |
| Software Engineer/Programmer/Developer | Less than a year | INR 276,950 – INR 320,470 |
| 1-4 years | INR 321,904 – INR 750,387 | |
| 5-9 years | INR 447,539 – INR 1,072,805 | |
| 10-19 years | INR 489,559 – INR 2,426,171 |
Considering the variations in workload, type of work and policies, different industries have designed their pay packets differently which comply with the factors mentioned above:
Job Category | Industry | Average Annual Salaries |
|---|---|---|
| Principal Software Engineer | ERP Software | INR 484,790 - INR1,648,672 |
| Software Development | INR 594,749 – INR 2,169,754 | |
| Database Software | INR 1,017,365 –INR 1,767,569 | |
| Software Applications | INR 774,690 -INR2,989,985 | |
| Computer Data Storage | INR 1,248,000 –INR2,663,274 | |
| Telecommunications | INR 301,001 –INR 2,576,050 | |
| Computer Software/Hardware | INR 121,641 –INR 3,649,405 | |
| Associate Software Engineer | IT Consulting | INR 216,000 – INR 488,335 |
| IT Services | INR 182,090 – INR 624,583 | |
| Insurance | INR 151,006 – INR 695,305 | |
| Financial Services | INR 181,207 – INR 1,191,952 | |
| Software Applications | INR 143,478 – INR 537,247 | |
| Consultancy | INR 248,152 – INR 369,202 | |
| Software Engineer/Programmer/Developer | IT Consulting | INR 255,969 -INR741,902 |
| IT Services | INR 155,999 –INR 535,146 | |
| Banking | INR 250,310 -INR755,030 | |
| ERP Software | INR 159,000 –INR 696,500 | |
| Software Applications | INR 121,078 -INR632,465 | |
| Telecommunications Software | INR 174,063 -INR620,398 | |
| Software Engineer/Programmer/Developer | IT Consulting | INR 382,389 – INR 964,510 |
| IT Services | INR 361,217 – INR 871,709 | |
| Banking | INR 300,000 –INR 1,080,899 | |
| Financial Services | INR 388,550 –INR 1,135,861 | |
| Software Applications | INR 311,428 – INR 988,892 | |
| Software Development | INR 355,105 -INR1,024,394 |
While an aspiring software engineer has unlimited scope to excel in his preferred field depending on his skills, he also will have the chance to rake in salaries suitable to his skills:
Job Category | Skills | Average Annual Salaries |
|---|---|---|
| Principal Software Engineer | UNIX | INR 967,271 – INR 2,239,540 |
| Java | INR 896,185 – INR 2,472,959 | |
| Linux | INR 935,976 – INR 1,915,984 | |
| C | INR 935,976 – INR 1,915,984 | |
| C++ | INR 702,169 – INR 2,518,345 | |
| SQL | INR 800,000 – INR 2,161,797 | |
| Oracle | INR 987,342 – INR 1,635,000 | |
| Associate Software Engineer | .NET | INR 158,336 - INR532,468 |
| Java | INR 192,271 – INR 575,141 | |
| C# | INR 148,145 – INR 549,662 | |
| C | INR 196,397 – INR 548,039 | |
| VB.Net | INR 118,157 – INR 526,353 | |
| SQL | INR 148,994 – INR 682,458 | |
| ASP.Net | INR 129,190 – INR 583,321 | |
| Software Engineer/Programmer/Developer | ASP.NET | INR 121,078 – INR 527,472 |
| Java | INR 167,763 – INR 614,379 | |
| C# | INR 121,356 – INR 609,241 | |
| C | INR 177,011 – INR 691,859 | |
| JavaScript | INR 144,700 – INR 545,318 | |
| C++ | INR 151,065 – INR 671,197 | |
| SQL | INR 157,379 – INR 585,580 | |
| .NET | INR 125,827 – INR 632,637 | |
| Senior Software Engineer | ASP.NET | INR 335,331 – INR 882,388 |
| Oracle | INR 354,410 – INR 1,000,351 | |
| C# | INR 356,231 – INR 926,555 | |
| C++ | INR 409,263 – INR 1,232,828 | |
| Java/J2EE | INR 370,280 – INR 1,009,001 | |
| PL/SQL | INR 352,333 – INR 1,000,046 | |
| .NET | INR 349,798 – INR 936,732 |
The variations in salaries based on degrees are something like this:
Job Category | Degree | Average Annual Salaries |
|---|---|---|
| Principal Software Engineer | Master of Computer Applications or MCA, Computer Science | INR 1,000,000 –INR 1,548,500 |
| Bachelor of Engineering (BEng), Electrical Engineering (EE) | INR 1,200,000 –INR 2,000,000 | |
| Bachelor’s Degree | INR 775,110 – INR 2,309,792 | |
| Bachelor of Engineering (BEng), Computer Science | INR 129,421 – INR 2,908,740 | |
| MBA | INR 630,000 – INR 2,063,534 | |
| Associate Software Engineer | Bachelor of Technology/BTech, IT | INR 125,850 – INR 626,253 |
| Bachelor’s Degree | INR 178,226 – INR 596,469 | |
| Bachelor of Science, Computer Science | INR 96,644 – INR 526,445 | |
| MCA, Computer Science | INR 152,500 – INR 671,250 | |
| Bachelor of Engineering | INR 183,800 – INR 349,714 | |
| Software Engineer/Programmer/Developer | Bachelor of Science, Computer Science | INR 147,395 – INR 366,251 |
| Bachelor’s Degree | INR 147,395 – INR 366,251 | |
| BTech, Computer Science and Engineering | INR 120,853 – INR 618,252 | |
| BEng/BE, Electrical Engineering (EE) | INR 310,748 – INR 415,000 | |
| Bachelor of Technology, Computer Science | INR 98,920 – INR 969,580 | |
| Senior Software Engineer | Bachelor of Science, Computer Science | INR 322,000 – INR 921,751 |
| Bachelor’s Degree | INR 364,083 – INR 998,524 | |
| BTech, Computer Science and Engineering | INR 363,884 – INR 946,873 | |
| BEng/BE, Electrical Engineering (EE) | INR 313,005 – INR 927,251 | |
| MCS, CS | INR 575,386 –INR 1,208,048 |
Pay structures in different cities are directly proportional to the corresponding costs of living:
Job Category | City | Average Annual Salaries |
|---|---|---|
| Principal Software Engineer | Pune, Maharashtra | INR 993,293 - INR2,055,549 |
| Bengaluru, Karnataka | INR 689,507 – INR 2,559,170 | |
| Noida, Uttar Pradesh | INR 1,176,400 –INR1,529,142 | |
| Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh | INR 593,917 - Rs1,734,518 | |
| Mumbai, Maharashtra | INR 402,683 –INR2,383,903 | |
| Gurgaon, Haryana | INR 904,024 – INR 2,034,730 | |
| Associate Software Engineer | Pune, Maharashtra | INR 223,526 – INR 715,631 |
| Bengaluru, Karnataka | INR 189,513 – INR 576,577 | |
| Noida, Uttar Pradesh | INR 132,400 – INR 380,957 | |
| Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh | INR 184,163 – INR 591,100 | |
| Mumbai, Maharashtra | INR 167,844 – INR 740,263 | |
| Kolkata, West Bengal | INR 172,971 – INR 618,252 | |
| Chennai, Tamil Nadu | INR 194,506 – INR 646,183 | |
| Software Engineer/Programmer/Developer | Pune, Maharashtra | INR 177,100 – INR 750,187 |
| Kolkata, West Bengal | INR 121,366 – INR 611,130 | |
| Bengaluru, Karnataka | INR 185,476 – INR 625,044 | |
| Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh | INR 174,524 – INR 642,695 | |
| Mumbai, Maharashtra | INR 149,319 – INR 619,580 | |
| Chennai, Tamil Nadu | INR 142,072 – INR 511,958 | |
| Senior Software Engineer | Pune, Maharashtra | INR 375,091 – INR 1,009,396 |
| Gurgaon, Haryana | INR 383,457 – INR 1,015,803 | |
| Bengaluru, Karnataka | INR 385,557 – INR 1,102,649 | |
| Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh | INR 335,788 – INR 1,122,527 | |
| Mumbai, Maharashtra | INR 297,988 – INR 899,960 | |
| Chennai, Tamil Nadu | INR 374,052 – INR 826,014 |
The gender based salaries of Software Engineers are:
Job Category | Gender | Average Annual Salaries |
|---|---|---|
| Principal Software Engineer | Female | INR 178,793 – INR 1,870,630 |
| Male | INR 790,946 – INR 2,441,648 | |
| Associate Software Engineer | Female | INR 182,046 – INR 594,082 |
| Male | INR 173,846 – INR 593,808 | |
| Software Engineer/Programmer/Developer | Female | INR 173,114 – INR 600,147 |
| Male | INR 146,837 – INR 628,118 | |
| Senior Software Engineer | Female | INR 357,404 – INR 848,953 |
| Male | INR 364,028 – INR 1,031,095 |
*Salaries are subject to change with time
Last Updated: 06/12/2014
