Employment

North's Application Development B.A.S. Degree program prepares students for software development roles in a variety of industries. The demand for such roles is expected to continue double-digit growth, year-over-year, for the next decade. The Puget Sound region remains one the largest – and best paying – locations for this work.

Entrants to the field can expect to see a requirement of an in-progress Bachelor's degree for internships and a completed degree for entry-level jobs. The Application Development B.A.S. degree prepares you to achieve your employment goals through challenging and rewarding project work and detailed employment preparation and assistance.

Program Support

Our AD program employs a full-time Technical Employment Program Manager to help students navigate the complexities of the internship and job application process, and works with the campus Career Services specialist to provide even more help.

We’ve built extensive Employment-related support into our program, including:

• 1-on-1 Assistance with setting, reviewing, and executing on employment goals
• Workshops and practice sessions for resumes, online profiles, networking, interview skills, negotiations, and more
• Company information sessions, career fairs, company visits, external hiring events, and both networking and technical Meetups
• Direct referrals for jobs and internships from industry contacts, alumni, and advisory board members
• Work-based learning courses (Internships, Practicums, and more)

Job Titles

AD students and graduates can expect opportunities for a variety of roles, including: 

• Software Developer
• Web Application Developer
• Mobile Application Developer
• Software Engineer
• Site Reliability Engineer
• Software Analyst
• Software Quality Assurance
• Program Manager
• Quality Assurance Engineer
• Data Analyst
• ... and more

Wages

Wages for the above titles vary by region, experience level, responsibilities, employer field, size of business, and other compensation.

According to a composite from PayScale.com and Glassdoor.com, Seattle Software Developers can expect to earn:

• Intern: $24-48 per hour
• Entry-Level: $76,000-114,000 per year
• 1-3 Years Experience: $84-153,000 per year
• 3+ Years Experience: $132-196,000 per year

Note that these numbers can quickly go much higher with job title changes, such as Software Engineer, Software Development Lead, or Manager roles.

Employers

Our Application Development students have landed internships and jobs at over 150 different companies and institutions, including major technology companies, startups, non-profits, international corporations, educational organizations, government agencies, and more.