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ANZSCO 2613Skill level 1Technology and data

Web developer

Build and maintain web applications, including front-end interfaces and back-end services.

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Salary

Cited figures from Job Outlook and QILT. ExamExplained does not publish predictive earnings or projections.

FigureAUDSource
Full-time weekly earnings$1800Job Outlook (2025-06-01)
Graduate starting salary$68,000QILT (2025-03-01)

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What a web developer actually does

Web developers spend most of the day in an IDE such as VS Code, a browser dev console and Git. A typical morning starts with a stand-up followed by focused coding: implementing front-end features, building or consuming APIs, fixing bugs in tickets, and writing tests. Code review takes a regular slice of every day, both reviewing teammates' pull requests and responding to comments on your own. Afternoons often include refinement of upcoming tickets, pairing on tricky CSS or accessibility work, design hand-offs from Figma, and discussions about performance, SEO and tracking with marketing or product partners. Smaller teams and agencies often run developers full-stack across front-end, back-end and a bit of deployment. Most roles are hybrid with 2-3 office days, 38-45 hours per week, with peaks around launches and campaign deadlines. Freelancers and contractors run a mix of feature work, maintenance and client meetings.

Typical tasks

  • Implement features in HTML, CSS and JavaScript or TypeScript.
  • Integrate APIs and databases.
  • Optimise performance and accessibility.

Skills you'll use

  • HTML, CSS (including modern layout with grid and flexbox) and JavaScript
  • TypeScript on serious projects
  • One major front-end framework (React, Vue, Svelte or similar)
  • A server-side framework (Node, Next, Laravel, Rails or .NET)
  • Git, code review and feature-branch or trunk-based workflows
  • Writing accessible markup and meeting WCAG 2.2 AA
  • Performance profiling and Core Web Vitals
  • Basic SQL and one common database (Postgres, MySQL, SQL Server)
  • Cloud hosting and CI/CD on services like Vercel, AWS or Azure

How to become one

  1. 1Finish Year 12 with English. Maths is helpful but not essential; many web developers come in without high-level maths
  2. 2Pick a pathway: a Bachelor of Information Technology, a Diploma of IT at TAFE, a coding bootcamp of 3-6 months, or self-study with a strong portfolio
  3. 3Build 3-4 real projects on GitHub. Include a marketing site, a small full-stack app, and one project that uses an API you didn't design yourself
  4. 4Deploy your projects publicly. A live link to a working site impresses hiring managers more than tutorials completed
  5. 5Apply for junior or graduate web developer roles at agencies, in-house product teams, government digital teams or as a junior at a Big four advisory tech team
  6. 6Decide around year 3-4 whether to specialise as a front-end engineer, back-end engineer, full-stack generalist or move into related roles like DevOps, accessibility or technical leadership

Where you can work

  • Digital agencies serving multiple client brands
  • SaaS and product companies running web platforms
  • Big four banks and other ASX-listed financial services
  • Federal and state government digital service teams
  • Telcos, large retailers and online marketplaces
  • Universities and education-focused product teams
  • Not-for-profits and government-business enterprises
  • Self-employed freelance or contract developers

Career progression

Typical stages and salary bands. Salary figures are sourced from Job Outlook, QILT or industry bodies; brackets are 25th-75th percentile not absolute floors or ceilings.

  1. Junior
    0-2 years
    Typical roles: Junior web developer, Graduate front-end developer, Associate full-stack developer
    Salary band: $65,000 - $85,000 per year (source, sourced 2026-05-21)
  2. Mid-level
    3-5 years
    Typical roles: Web developer, Front-end developer, Full-stack developer
    Salary band: $95,000 - $130,000 per year (source, sourced 2026-05-21)
  3. Senior
    6-9 years
    Typical roles: Senior web developer, Senior front-end engineer, Tech lead
    Salary band: $140,000 - $185,000 per year (source, sourced 2026-05-21)
  4. Lead or principal
    10+ years
    Typical roles: Lead web developer, Principal front-end engineer, Head of engineering

Is this for you?

You might love this if

  • You like seeing your work in front of users within days or weeks
  • You enjoy bouncing between visual polish and engineering detail
  • You're willing to keep refreshing your stack every few years
  • You can pair with designers without taking pixel feedback personally
  • You're comfortable shipping then iterating rather than chasing perfect

This might not suit you if

  • You dislike constant tooling churn (JavaScript ecosystem changes fast)
  • You want to work mainly on long-running systems projects
  • You hate fiddly bug work involving browser quirks and CSS edge cases
  • You want stable, predictable work with no client or stakeholder calls

Three ways in

Uni, TAFE and trade routes for web developer. Not every career has all three; we only list pathways that actually lead to this occupation.

University

Bachelor degrees that lead to this career.

TAFE / VET

Nationally accredited Certificate and Diploma qualifications.

Apprenticeship trade

Earn while you learn through an Australian Apprenticeship.

Not an apprenticeship trade.

Sources

ExamExplained does not publish predictive salary figures. For current Australian earnings data check Job Outlook directly. Career classifications follow the ABS ANZSCO 2022 release.