Remote Web Developer Salary & Where to Find Jobs

So if you're looking for high-paying jobs with great flexibility, then being a remote web developer might be just what you're looking for!
You might be thinking that becoming a web developer is just for the lucky few who live in big cities with lots of tech jobs.
Wrong.
The truth is, if you have the talent and skills, there are plenty of remote web developer jobs out there waiting to be filled!
If you're on the lookout for a remote job as a developer, check out 60 Software Companies Hiring Remote Workers [Incl. Salary].
In this blog post, we'll discuss how high your salary can grow when you become a remote web developer. We'll also talk about what it takes to get started in the industry.
But first, let's take a look at salaries.
How much does a regular remote web developer make?
Let's get this straight.
The average salary won't help you much.
Why?
Because the average salary is skewed by high salaries in big cities, big companies, and people with different skill sets. If you don't have a degree, make sure to read How To Become A Software Developer At Home (With No Degree).
For example, a remote web developer working remotely from New York City will make more money than a full-time employee doing the same work in India.
But the average salary based on years of experience and education is a more reliable indicator.
According to PayScale, an online market research company that collects data from employees with verified credentials, a developer without any college degree can expect to earn between $46K and $67K per year.
But to give you an idea or starting point, here are the average salaries for some common remote positions:
- Junior Web Developer: $60,000 per year
- Mid-level Web Developer: $72,000 per year
- Senior Web Developer / Team Lead: $88,000 per year
- Some Seniors earn up to $142,500 per year
What does this mean to you? Nothing.
To get a better idea of how much YOU can earn in the software industry as a remote web developer, you need to take into account the following factors.
The following factors can affect your salary as a remote web developer
- Location. Location? Yeah, but I'm working remotely. How can it affect salary? Good that you ask. Some (not all) companies pay their remote employees by location and not only by experience and skills. Which is a shame. But it's the truth. The company benefits from paying less for employees living in a cheaper city or country, so they can increase their margins.
- Years of experience. Someone with one year of work under his belt might not get the same salary as someone who has five years instead because he is more experienced and was able to grow his career faster than the other one.
- The type of company you are working for. Again, some companies pay more than others (more on this later). Some remote web developer positions might be with bigger software development companies or startups where they can afford to pay their employees better and offer perks like free lunches among other benefits that small businesses cannot match.
- Your skills. Yes, having more skills will grant you a better salary. The companies are willing to pay more for developers with specific knowledge or experience in certain areas like front-end web development, full-stack development, and PHP programming.
- Company size. This is not always true, because some startups get funded extremely well and pay their employees better (see above) while some small companies will try to match the top salaries offered by big companies. But, in general, a large company pays more than a mid-sized or early-stage startup does for similar positions and responsibilities because they have the funds to do so.
- Gender of the web developer. Okay. Let's get this clear. To all the companies out there. You should not pay women less than men. Period. But although we're not living in the stone age anymore, this is still happening. If you find out this is happening in a company, stay away from them.
- Education and certifications. This is a big one because it will determine your market value in the industry and also how much you'll get paid as a remote web developer. If you have an MBA or Ph.D., then you should expect to earn more money than someone with only a high school diploma (yes, really).
- Seniority level of the role you are applying for. If your job description is Lead Developer or Senior Developer then being a developer with less experience might not be enough to land you this position and salary range because there's a lot of competition out there from other developers.
To get you a better idea of how much you can earn, here are some examples of remote developer salaries
A Junior Web Developer at a small startup with less than one year of experience can expect to earn between $45K and $55K per year. If the same remote developer works at a big fortune 500 company, salary can go up to $65K per year.
A mid-level web developer with two to five years of experience at a small startup can expect a salary of around $55K -$65K while working for a large company might get you the same job title and pay between $70k and 90k.
A senior web developer with five to ten years of experience can expect a salary between $80K and $100k working for small companies. If the same developer leads a team and works at a large company, he/she can get paid up to $120K.
Senior web developers with ten or more years of experience who are currently working at medium-sized companies should expect a salary between $90k and 110k while the same position in large corporations might pay up to $130K.
How can you earn more as a remote developer?
There are a few things you can actively do to increase your chances of getting a better job and remote web developer salary.
- Increase your salary by 10% by negotiating with your current employer
- Attend meetups and conferences to stay up-to-date on the latest industry trends
- Offer consulting services - people may need help with their web development projects, for example
- Join a team of developers who are working on an open-source project that you're interested in contributing to
- Start teaching others how to code through Meetup groups or other avenues where you can share what you've learned with others
- Explore the world of freelancing
- Find a mentor who can guide you through your career
- Pursue skills that are in high demand, such as data science and machine learning
- Get certified to increase your marketability
- Learn how to code in multiple languages for more job opportunities
- Find freelance work online through sites like Upwork or Freelancer
Best websites for finding higher-paying jobs as a remote developer
There are some websites which you can visit to find remote developer jobs that pay very well. Look at the following websites to find remote developer jobs that pay more than $90K per year.
- Sqotty.com – SQOTTY is a remote work job board dedicated to software developers. You can find a variety of jobs here and the best part is that you can apply for them directly.
- WeWorkRemotely – We Work Remotely is a global community dedicated to connecting talented remote workers with great companies.
- SkipTheDrive – Skip The Drive works hard to connect talented tech workers with top-tier employers, 100% remotely. They have very reasonable prices and
- Authentic Jobs – Authentic Jobs is a job board for software engineers and creative pros. You can find jobs in all areas of web development here like mobile, backend & full-stack developers as well as UI/UX designers.
- Stack Overflow Careers – Stack Overflow Careers is the job board of Stack Overflow, a free Q&A site for programmers. It has one of the biggest databases out there and every website mentioned above will have jobs posted here as well.
Another great strategy to find high-paying jobs is to research the best companies to work for and apply to them. Though this is more work, you will find that some of the best jobs are offered on their websites.
The following companies pay well and offer remote work opportunities: Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook, Apple & IBM.
Conclusion
Write a conclusion about the above content. It's not easy to earn a living as a remote developer, but it is possible. If you're looking for remote web developers' salaries and where to find the best jobs, then this article will be your go-to resource.
I hope that this blog post was helpful for you! If you have any questions or you would like to share your remote development experience, please leave a comment below. Cheers!