Professional computing spans occupations, developer platforms, workplace practices, artificial-intelligence adoption, and the devices used to do technical work. The statistics below keep those populations separate: most are U.S. labor measures, while others describe global surveys, public GitHub activity, worldwide PC markets, or a standardized energy metric.
Key Professional Computing Statistics
The most broadly useful professional computing statistics include:
- 1,895,500 U.S. workers were software developers, quality assurance analysts, and testers in 2024.
- Software developers accounted for 1,693,800 U.S. jobs in 2024.
- The combined U.S. software developer, QA analyst, and tester group is projected to reach 2,183,300 workers in 2034.
- The combined occupation group is projected to grow 15% in the United States from 2024 to 2034.
- About 129,200 openings per year were projected for the U.S. group during 2024–2034.
- U.S. software developers had a $133,080 median annual wage in May 2024.
- A bachelor’s degree was required for 65.5% of U.S. computer and mathematical workers in 2023.
- Telework was a job requirement for 53.5% of U.S. computer and mathematical workers in 2023.
- Computer and mathematical workers spent 88.9% of the average U.S. workday sitting in 2023.
- 42% of global Stack Overflow 2024 survey respondents described their developer arrangement as hybrid.
- Nearly 150,000 public generative-AI projects were on GitHub in 2024.
- 75% of global knowledge workers surveyed by Microsoft and LinkedIn used generative AI for work in 2024.
- 78% of workplace AI users reported bringing their own AI tools to work in the 2024 Microsoft/LinkedIn survey.
- 68% of people in the 2024 Microsoft/LinkedIn survey struggled with the pace and volume of work.
- Gartner forecast 250.4 million worldwide PC shipments for 2024.
- Gartner reported worldwide PC shipments rose 1.3% in calendar year 2024.
Contents
- Professional computing jobs and outlook
- Professional computing pay and occupation data
- Work requirements and remote computing
- Developer work environments and AI tools
- Workplace AI adoption and workload
- PC shipments and professional computing hardware
Professional Computing Jobs and Outlook
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 1,895,500 software developers, quality assurance analysts, and testers in 2024. That combined estimate included 1,693,800 software developers and 201,700 software QA analysts and testers.
| U.S. software occupation measure | Period | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Developers, QA analysts, and testers | 2024 | 1,895,500 workers |
| Software developers | 2024 | 1,693,800 workers |
| QA analysts and testers | 2024 | 201,700 workers |
| Combined group projection | 2034 | 2,183,300 workers |
The BLS projects the combined group to grow 15% from 2024 to 2034, with software developer employment alone growing 16% and QA analyst and tester employment growing 10%. About 129,200 openings per year are projected for the group over that decade, including replacement needs as well as newly created jobs.
Source: Software Developers, Quality Assurance Analysts, and Testers: Occupational Outlook Handbook. The 2034 figures are forecasts, not realized counts.
Professional Computing Pay and Occupation Data
Pay varies by occupation, percentile, and industry. In May 2024, the U.S. median annual wage was $133,080 for software developers and $102,610 for software QA analysts and testers.
For software developers, the lowest-paid 10% earned below $79,850, while the highest-paid 10% earned above $211,450. Industry medians also differed: software publishing was $149,990, manufacturing was $134,910, and finance and insurance was $132,880.
| Occupation or industry measure | May 2024 U.S. result |
|---|---|
| Software developers, median | $133,080 |
| QA analysts and testers, median | $102,610 |
| Software developers, lowest-paid 10% threshold | Below $79,850 |
| Software developers, highest-paid 10% threshold | Above $211,450 |
| Software developers in software publishing, median | $149,990 |
| Software developers in manufacturing, median | $134,910 |
| Software developers in finance and insurance, median | $132,880 |
| QA analysts and testers in manufacturing, median | $125,990 |
The BLS May 2024 occupational wage table also counted 233,440 data scientists, 38,480 computer and information research scientists, 107,760 operations research analysts, and 29,800 statisticians. Their reported mean annual wages were respectively $124,590, $152,310, $99,120, and $112,330; these are means, not medians, and the occupation boundaries do not represent every form of professional computing.
Source: Occupational Employment and Wages — May 2024.
Professional Computing Work Requirements and Remote Computing
The BLS Occupational Requirements Survey describes requirements needed for critical tasks, not necessarily what every worker personally does. In 2023, a bachelor’s degree was required for 65.5% of U.S. computer and mathematical workers, prior work experience for 82.9%, on-the-job training for 62.1%, and credentials for 15.2%.
Telework was a requirement for 53.5% of these workers in 2023, but that does not mean 53.5% were actively teleworking. More than basic people skills were required for 96.1%, and keyboarding was required for more than 99.5%, a bounded published estimate.
Computer and mathematical workers spent an average of 88.9% of the workday sitting and 11.1% standing in 2023. These are posture estimates, not health outcomes.
Computer user support specialists had a different profile in the same 2023 ORS data: telework was a requirement for 36.9%, prior work experience for 70.2%, on-the-job training for 80.9%, and a high school diploma for 44.5%.
Source: Occupational Requirements Survey: Occupational Profiles.
Developer Work Environments and AI Tool Statistics
The 2024 Stack Overflow Developer Survey describes a global, self-selected respondent population rather than a probability sample of all professionals. More than 65,000 developers responded, and 84% reported working part-time, freelancing, or full-time.
Among respondents, 42% described their arrangement as hybrid and 20% worked in person. The in-person share was 15% in 2022, 16% in 2023, and 20% in 2024, although changing survey composition means this is not a labor-force time series.
Source: 2024 Stack Overflow Developer Survey.
GitHub provides a separate view of public platform activity. GitHub reported nearly 150,000 public generative-AI projects in 2024, up 98% year over year, with about 70,000 new generative-AI projects started during the year.
The United States ranked first among the top 10 regions by contribution to generative-AI projects on GitHub in 2024. This ranking describes contribution data, not national workforce size or the entire global developer population.
Source: Octoverse: AI leads Python to top language as the number of global developers surges.
Workplace AI Adoption, Workload, and Professional Computing Trends
Microsoft’s 2024 Work Trend Index reported that 75% of surveyed global knowledge workers used generative AI for work. The population is defined as knowledge workers in the Microsoft/LinkedIn survey, not all workers or all businesses.
Among workplace AI users, 46% had started using it less than six months earlier, and 78% reported bringing their own AI tools to work. The BYOAI result rose to 80% among AI users at small and medium-sized companies.
| 2024 Microsoft/LinkedIn survey measure | Result |
|---|---|
| Knowledge workers using generative AI for work | 75% |
| AI users starting within the previous six months | 46% |
| AI users bringing their own tools to work | 78% |
| AI users at small and medium-sized companies bringing tools | 80% |
| AI users reluctant to admit use on important tasks | 52% |
| AI users worried AI use made them look replaceable | 53% |
| Respondents struggling with pace and volume of work | 68% |
| Respondents reporting burnout | 46% |
The same survey found that 52% of workplace AI users were reluctant to admit using AI for their most important tasks, while 53% worried that using AI on important tasks made them look replaceable. These are self-reported attitudes, not measured job displacement.
Overall, 68% of people surveyed said they struggled with the pace and volume of work, and 46% reported feeling burned out; burnout here is self-reported and not a clinical diagnosis. Microsoft’s productivity-data analysis also found that 85% of emails were read in under 15 seconds, a Microsoft 365 signal rather than a measure of every email user or system.
Sources: AI at Work Is Here. Now Comes the Hard Part — 2024 Work Trend Index and 2024 Work Trend Index Annual Report from Microsoft and LinkedIn.
PC Shipments and Professional Computing Hardware
Worldwide PC figures show the scale of the overall computer market, not a separate count of mobile workstations or business laptops. Gartner forecast total worldwide PC shipments of 250.4 million units in 2024 and forecast a 3.5% increase from 2023.
Gartner also forecast 295 million combined AI PC and generative-AI smartphone shipments worldwide in 2024, compared with 29 million combined units in 2023. Because the category combines PCs and smartphones, it should not be treated as an AI-PC-only count.
For observed 2024 market estimates, Gartner reported that worldwide PC shipments increased 1.4% year over year in the fourth quarter and 1.3% for the full calendar year. These figures cover the overall PC market rather than professional workstations specifically.
Source: Gartner Says Worldwide PC Shipments Increased 1.4% in Fourth Quarter of 2024 and 1.3% for the Year.
Energy comparisons require a defined method. ENERGY STAR’s Computer Specification, Version 5.0 defines total energy consumption, or TEC, as a standardized modeled-use metric with an assumed duty-cycle basis; its workstation power measurement should therefore be read as a specification framework, not a claim about the actual energy use of every professional computer.
Source: ENERGY STAR Computer Specification, Version 5.0.