Let's talk about money. Not in the hushed, awkward way we're taught to avoid it, but in the bright, honest light of data and dollars.
If 2025 taught us anything, it's that salary transparency isn't just nice to have—it's survival gear. While the recruiting world was busy with AI deepfakes and corporate espionage dramas, thousands of you were having real conversations about real numbers. And boy, did those numbers tell a story.
I've been staring at these spreadsheets for longer than I care to admit, tracing the arc of careers from wide-eyed 0-1 year hopefuls to seasoned 15+ year veterans. What emerges isn't just a salary guide—it's a map of the modern tech career landscape, complete with treasure, pitfalls, and a few delightful surprises.
Grab your favorite beverage (mine's currently lukewarm green tea, reheated twice) and let's dive into 16,000+ self reported 2025's salary data, and what it actually says about your worth in this wonderfully chaotic market.
Let's start at the top, because honestly, who doesn't want to know what's possible?
Engineering Leadership sits on the throne with an average minimum ask of $200,462.96. But here's what's fascinating: that median of $200,000 is right there at the average. It's not a bell curve—it's a bold statement. When you reach this level, you know your value, and you're not shy about stating it.
Right behind sits Engineering Manager at $193,387.91, with the same $200,000 median. Notice something? Both roles have identical median values, but Engineering Leadership commands a slightly higher average. That's the premium for strategic vision over team management—a subtle but important distinction that our candidates understand instinctively.
But here's my favorite part of this upper echelon: the ranges. From $75,000 to $300,000. That's not just startup versus FAANG—that's the entire spectrum of possibility. One candidate's leadership role at a scrappy AI startup looks completely different from another's at a tech giant. Both are valid. Both are engineering leadership. The market has room for both stories.
Now let's talk about the roles that made me do a double-take when I saw the numbers:
Legal at $175,000 average? In a tech salary report? Absolutely. In a year of regulatory battles, AI ethics debates, and "Sovereign AI" discussions, tech-adjacent legal expertise became premium real estate.
Cybersecurity (yes, I see the typo in our CSV—we're recruiters, not spellcheckers) at $168,181.82 and Security Engineer at $167,241.38. Remember all those headlines about corporate espionage and data breaches? Every one of those headlines added dollars to these salaries. In 2025, security wasn't a cost center—it was the insurance policy every company desperately needed.
Product Managers holding strong at $166,108.45, with the same $150,000 median as Machine Learning Engineers. This is where the rubber meets the road in tech: the people who translate "what's possible" into "what ships." That translation skill? Apparently, it's worth about $166K.
Now let's descend from the peaks to the fertile valleys where most tech careers grow. This is where the story gets really interesting.
Software Engineers: $144,778.19 average, $150,000 median. Let's pause here. This is the bedrock of our entire ecosystem—16,878 of you in our data alone. That $150K median isn't just a number; it's the gravitational center of the tech universe. Everything else orbits around it.
But look at the beautiful clustering:
They're all dancing in the same gravitational field. The variation isn't random—it's the market pricing specific skills. ML expertise commands a premium (AI-First culture, anyone?), while Data Engineering, though equally crucial, sits slightly lower. It's not about value—it's about supply, demand, and hype cycles.
Okay, these are the data points that had me doing actual spit-takes:
Business Development at $165,217.39—outpacing Machine Learning Engineers? In a year of economic uncertainty and "Trump Liberation Day Tariffs," the people who could open doors and create opportunities became worth their weight in gold. This number says more about 2025's economic anxiety than any economist's report.
Design Manager at $164,383.56—higher than Hardware Engineer? We've officially entered the era where how something feels is as valuable as how it's built. The "experience economy" has a salary figure, and it's $164K.
UI/UX Designer vs. UX Researcher: $131,554.88 versus $132,565.79. They're practically identical. The era of "design as decoration" is over. Research and execution are valued equally—a quiet revolution in how we build products.
Now let's add time to the mix, because a salary without context is just a number. A salary across a career? That's a story.
Look at these starting points:
Notice something? Product Managers start higher but Software Engineers catch up faster in percentage terms. That's the apprenticeship model versus the "throw you in the deep end" approach. Both work. Both pay.
The real outlier? Engineering Manager at 0-1 years: $160,714. Who are these mythical creatures managing engineers with less than a year of experience? Probably former individual contributors making the leap at startups. The range tells the story: $150,000 to $175,000. They're not junior managers—they're specialists taking on leadership.
This is where paths diverge dramatically:
Software Engineers take the steady climb:
Product Managers take the express elevator:
Product Managers hit their stride early and plateau (temporarily). Software Engineers build gradually but reach similar heights. Different rhythms for different crafts.
Here's where things get philosophically interesting:
Software Engineers at 15+ years: $160,470
Data Scientists at 15+ years: $186,364
The data specialist out-earns the generalist at the peak of their careers. Why? Scarcity. There are fewer people who've weathered 15 years of data science evolution (remember when it was just "statistics"?).
But look at UI/UX Designers: $170,192 at 15+ years. They out-earn their Engineering counterparts. In the "experience economy," 15 years of design wisdom is apparently worth more than 15 years of code wisdom. That's a 2025 reality that would have been unthinkable in 2015.
Every dataset has its beautiful weirdos:
Business Development at 6-8 years: $256,250 average minimum? With a range from $125,000 to $300,000? This isn't a typo—this is commission structures on steroids. In a tough economy, the rainmakers who can close deals command percentages that make engineers blush.
Marketing at 8-10 years: $200,000 flat? Just a data point, but what a data point. When "performance marketing" means "direct revenue attribution," the salary follows.
Account Manager at 4-6 years: $200,000 flat? Again, just one point, but telling. Relationship management at scale has a number, and it's $200K.
As I step back from these numbers, I'm not just looking at salaries. I'm looking at a cultural shift happening in real-time.
The ranges are everything. Look at Software Engineer: $50,000 to $300,000. That's not an error—that's the entire American tech economy in one line. A bootcamp grad in Kansas City and a Stanford PhD in Silicon Valley both call themselves Software Engineers. Both are right. The market has stretched to include them both.
Experience isn't linear. Notice how some roles peak early (Product Manager) while others grow steadily (Software Engineer)? There's no one "right" career path. There's your path. The data proves it.
Specialization has a half-life. Cybersecurity spikes in a crisis year. Business Development soars in an uncertain economy. AI/ML commands premiums during an AI boom. Your salary isn't just about what you know—it's about when you know it.
So here's my unsolicited advice from someone who's stared at your salary expectations longer than is probably healthy:
In 2025, while the industry obsessed over AI replacing us, you were busy having the most human of conversations: "What am I worth?" And you backed it up with numbers, with experience, with clarity.
That spreadsheet I've been staring at? It's not cold data. It's thousands of individual declarations of value. It's career stories converted to currency. It's the sound of the tech workforce growing up and speaking up.
Here's to knowing your worth in 2026—and to companies smart enough to pay it.
P.S. To the Security Engineer with 0-1 years experience asking for $162,500: I don't know who told you that number, but I admire your confidence. Please teach a workshop.
Top 5 by Average Minimum Ask:
Biggest Surprises:
Steadiest Climbers:
Wildest Ranges:
(All data from Underdog.io 2025 candidate self-reported salary expectations. Individual results may vary. Coffee consumption definitely will.)
Q: What was the average salary for Software Engineers in 2025?
A: According to data from thousands of tech professionals, Software Engineers had an average minimum salary expectation of $144,778, with a median of $150,000. The range was broad—from $50,000 to $300,000—reflecting the diversity of experience levels, locations, and company stages in the market.
Q: Which tech role had the highest salary expectations in 2025?
A: Engineering Leadership roles commanded the highest average minimum salary at $200,462.96, followed closely by Engineering Managers at $193,387.91. Specialized roles like Legal ($175,000) and Cybersecurity ($168,181.82) also ranked surprisingly high due to increased demand in those areas.
Q: How much do Product Managers typically earn with 4-6 years of experience?
A: Product Managers with 4-6 years of experience reported an average minimum salary expectation of $153,977, typically ranging between $100,000 and $200,000. This represents a significant jump from earlier career stages and reflects the premium placed on product leadership experience.
Q: Do Data Scientists earn more than Software Engineers?
A: At the entry level (0-1 years), Data Scientists started slightly lower ($84,091 vs $85,135 for Software Engineers). However, by mid-career (4-6 years), Data Scientists averaged $117,188 compared to Software Engineers at $93,071. At senior levels (15+ years), Data Scientists out-earned their engineering counterparts: $186,364 vs $160,470.
Q: How does experience affect tech salaries?
A: Experience dramatically impacts tech salaries, but not uniformly across roles. Software Engineers see steady growth from $85,135 (0-1 years) to $160,470 (15+ years). Product Managers experience rapid early growth, plateauing mid-career before rising again. Data Scientists show the most dramatic growth curve, nearly doubling their compensation over 15 years.
Q: What was the salary range for UI/UX Designers in 2025?
A: UI/UX Designers reported an average minimum salary of $131,554 with a range from $50,000 to $300,000. Entry-level designers (0-1 years) averaged $70,588, while those with 15+ years experience reached $170,192, demonstrating substantial growth potential in design careers.
Q: How do specialized engineering roles compare in salary?
A: Specialized engineering roles commanded different premiums: Machine Learning Engineers averaged $157,392, DevOps Engineers $148,837, Data Engineers $139,910, and Security Engineers $167,241. The variations reflect current market demand, with security and ML roles particularly valued in 2025's tech landscape.
Q: Are remote workers paid less than in-office employees?
A: Our 2025 data doesn't show a direct salary penalty for remote preferences. With 46.55% of tech professionals preferring remote-only work and these roles commanding competitive salaries (Engineering Leadership at $200K+, Software Engineers at $145K+), the market has largely adjusted to value skills and experience over location.
Q: How accurate are these salary numbers for 2026 planning?
A: While these numbers reflect 2025 expectations, they provide a crucial benchmark for 2026. The data reveals trends—like the premium for specialized skills and experience growth patterns—that typically evolve gradually. Consider these figures as informed starting points, adjusting for inflation (typically 3-4%) and continued demand in high-growth areas like AI and cybersecurity.
