Throughline

Technology

Software Developer in Houston

29 postings read · sampled 2026-10-01 · source ats · 12 employers · largest 24% of it

What employers actually ask for

Credentials named in the 29 postings we read, ranked by how many mentioned each one.

What it costs

Exam and application fees plus typical self-study hours. Almost nobody needs every credential on this list — start with the top line.

Most-asked-for, on its own
$749CISSP · ~300 hrs
asked for in 1 of 29 postings — 3%
If you earned all 1 of them
$749
fees checked 2026-08
300 hrs
300 hours — about 30 weeks at 10 hrs/wk

Not in the total: Bachelor's Degree — cost varies by institution; Master's Degree — cost varies by institution; TS/SCI — sponsored by an employer, not purchasable.

What the official taxonomy says

O*NET surveys people already doing this job. That describes who got hired over a long window, not what employers are asking for now — where it disagrees with the counts above, the counts are the more current answer.

Education reported by people doing this job
85%reported bachelor’s degree
  • Bachelor’s degree85%
  • Associate’s degree or other 2-year degree5%
  • Master’s degree5%

Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

O*NET 15-1252.00 · pulled 2026-10-01 · percentages are of surveyed workers, each rounded separately, so they need not total 100

This sample is small enough that one posting moves any percentage by more than a couple of points, so we are not calling anything low-signal here. Read the numbers above as a direction, not a measurement.

What it pays

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. A different survey from the postings above, so the two do not share a sample.

$80,400
10th percentile
$129,440
median
$181,770
90th percentile

Every credential above costs $749 — about 2 days' pay at the median.

Who was hiring

Employers with at least one matching posting in this sample.

Saronic · SpaceX · Apptronik · Allen Control Systems · Natera · Scale AI · Idealforce LLC · SBT Global · SoFi · Stem Xpert · Torc Robotics · Walmart

The same role elsewhere

Next

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