Here’s what you need to know about becoming a .NET developer in 2021, from salary rates to required skills.
.NET developer salary rates
Being a .NET developer can be a well-paid job, but it’s important to keep in mind that the .NET developer salary can vary depending on several factors, including location and level of experience. In general, you’ll make around $65,000 as a junior .NET developer, while a senior .NET developer can earn as much as $110,000. There are also variations based on your employer’s location. The highest-paid .NET developer jobs are in the United States, especially in Washington, California, and North Carolina. The US is followed by Canada, Australia, and the UK, but Poland is also catching up from behind and attracts a lot of top talent. On average, the median salary of a .NET developer in the US is around $83,000.
What .NET specialization should you focus on?
Learning Web Development
This is one of the top preferences for those who want to be .NET developers, and it basically means that you’ll develop web-based applications in this framework. Among the skills needed to become a .NET web developer, the most important ones include MVC, WebAPI, WCF, and RESTful APIs.
Learning Cloud Development
As a .NET developer, you can also work with cloud-based applications, and this is, in fact, one of the most lucrative directions, since cloud adoption is on the rise. To build a career as a cloud .NET developer, you’ll need to be familiar with Microsoft Azure, but knowing Amazon AWS and Google Cloud can be an advantage.
Learning Mobile Development
Mobile .NET developers create apps for operating systems like Android and iOS – either standalone apps, or apps based on existing web APIs. To do this, you’ll need a solid grasp of C#, and then, depending on what OS you want to focus on, either Java/Kotlin or Objective-C/Swift. To unlock more job opportunities, you should also consider Xamarin, which is an open-source mobile app platform for .NET.
Learning Desktop Development
Due to the advent of cloud technologies, desktop applications may not be as popular as they were a few years ago, but there is still demand for them, especially for Windows Presentation Foundation and Universal Windows Platform. While it may not be the most common direction, you can get a high salary doing it.
Learning Microservice Development
Microservices are needed for large applications that serve many purposes and have a longer deployment time. For example, you may be asked to develop microservices for an app that security checks and online payments. Generally speaking, microservice development isn’t a standalone job, and you’ll need to know it in addition to your primary specialization.
Learning Game Development
Gaming is one of the fastest-growing industries, so it doesn’t come as a surprise that the demand for .NET game developers is on the rise. To become a .NET game developer, you’ll need to have .NET and C# skills and also be familiar with the most popular game development engines, such as Unity and MonoGame.
Learning Machine Learning
If you’re curious about disruptive technologies that will be extremely sought-after in the future, then machine learning might be a good career option for you. As a .NET developer working in machine learning, you’ll have to develop apps that leverage the power of AI, such as chatbots, advanced fraud detection systems, algorithms that detect spam, and more.
Additional .NET skills you’ll need
Apart from the general .NET skills we mentioned above, you may also need additional skills, depending on your employer’s preferences. For example, you might need to be familiar with the technologies involved in the CI/CD pipeline, or with console applications. Needless to say, you’ll need excellent problem-solving skills, time management, and you should be a great communicator.
Are you ready to become a .NET developer?
Based on existing data, .NET developers are not only some of the best-paying jobs in tech, but also one of the tech jobs with an optimistic outlook, especially if you can manage to find a job for a multinational company in the US or Canada. However, before you can enjoy all these opportunities, you need to invest in your web development skills and focus on a .NET specialization. While a bachelor’s degree isn’t always a must, you usually need some sort of education, such as an online course.