Software Developer has the distinction of coming top not only as Best Technology Job and Best STEM Job in the U.S. News ranking, but also as the best job overall for 2018. CNNMoney which also compiles a list  of the 100 best jobs, placed Mobile Developer in the top position for 2017.

There are lots of criteria that can be used to determine the relative merits of different jobs and jobs in the software industry have a tendency to do well whichever measures are chosen. 

U.S. News calculates its scores using seven components, the most influential of which is median salary.

Employment rate, i.e the percentage of people in an occupation who are currently employed, and 10-year growth volume, the total number of new jobs that should be created for an occupation in the coming decade are the next two most important. 

Two other factors that are closely related are 10-year growth percentage which indicates how rapidly an occupation is expanding and future job prospects. The final two are stress level and work-life balance, both of which affect quality of life and lifestyle.

Software Developer has an overall Score of 8.3 out of 10 which put it just ahead of Dentist with a score of 8.2. So what exactly does a software developer do? According to U.S. News, it's a creative role that involves inventing the technologies we take for granted every day. To quote from its description:

The best software developers are creative and have the technical expertise to carry out innovative ideas. You might expect software developers to sit at their desks designing programs all day – and they do, but their job involves many more responsibilities. They could spend their days working on a client project from scratch and writing new code. But they could also be tasked with maintaining or improving the code for programs that are already up and running. Software developers also check for bugs in software. And although the job does involve extreme concentration and chunks of uninterrupted time, software developers have to collaborate with others, including fellow developers, management or clients.

Although it only ranks 6th in the 100 Best Jobs, Statistician comes 1st in Best Business Jobs and 2nd in Best STEM Jobs with an overall Score of 7.9 out of 10. Information Security Analyst, professionals who respond to data breaches and cyber-attacks, comes 6th in Best STEM Jobs and 2nd in Best Technology Jobs with an overall score of 6.8 out of 10.

So where is Computer Programmer, the role devoted to writing, converting and maintaining the code that makes software programs run, in the rankings?  It comes 10th in Best Technology Jobs and has an overall score of 5.2 out of 10, a score which is depressed by future growth prospects, which as we've previously reported are somewhat negative, see Programming Jobs To Decline? On the positive side, Computer Programmer is a stepping stone to Software Developer, or to Mobile Developer which came top in an alternative ranking of Best Jobs in America.

Explaining how the best jobs for 2017 were picked, CNNMoney stated that it looked for jobs that were satisfying as well as pay and availability of jobs:

The job market is the strongest it’s been in nearly a decade, and it’s poised to maintain that strength throughout 2017. That means that workers can be pickier about where to apply their talents, so when we set out to find America's Best Jobs this year, we sought professions that not only offer opportunity for advancement, but ones that are satisfying as well. Other important factors: pay (how strong it is now, and how fast it's growing) and the overall availability of jobs. We also considered how meaningful or stressful a job is, how difficult it is to get started in a given field, the likelihood of promotions, and, where possible, the ability to telecommute.

The final factor, being able to work wherever you want to, obviously applies to mobile development and seems to have tipped the balance in its favor.

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