Computer Programmers

SOC Code 15-1251.00

Author

Chuck Nelson

Published

October 12, 2025

Create, modify, and test the code and scripts that allow computer applications to run. Work from specifications drawn up by software and web developers or other individuals. May develop and write computer programs to store, locate, and retrieve specific documents, data, and information.

Sample of reported job titles: Analyst Programmer, Application Programmer Analyst, Computer Programmer, Computer Programmer Analyst, Internet Programmer, Java Developer, Programmer, Programmer Analyst, Web Applications Programmer, Web Programmer

On the job, you would:

1 Knowledge

  • Mathematics — Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

  • English Language — Knowledge of the structure and content of the English - language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.

  • Engineering and Technology — Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

  • Computers and Electronics — Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

  • Administration and Management — Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

2 Skills

  • Programming — Writing computer programs for various purposes.

  • Active Listening — Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

  • Complex Problem Solving — Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.

  • Critical Thinking — Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.

  • Quality Control Analysis — Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.

  • Reading Comprehension — Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.

  • Systems Analysis — Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.

  • Judgment and Decision Making — Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

  • Writing — Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

  • Active Learning — Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.

  • Mathematics — Using mathematics to solve problems.

  • Operations Analysis — Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.

  • Social Perceptiveness — Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

  • Speaking — Talking to others to convey information effectively.

  • Systems Evaluation — Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.

  • Time Management — Managing one’s own time and the time of others.

  • Coordination — Adjusting actions in relation to others’ actions.

  • Monitoring — Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action. |

3 Abilities

  • Written Comprehension The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

  • Near Vision — The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

  • Oral Comprehension — The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

  • Deductive Reasoning — The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

  • Inductive Reasoning — The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

  • Information Ordering — The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

  • Problem Sensitivity — The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.

  • Oral Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

  • Speech Recognition — The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

  • Written Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

  • Mathematical Reasoning — The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.

  • Number Facility — The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.

  • Selective Attention — The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.

  • Speech Clarity — The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

  • Flexibility of Closure — The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.

  • Fluency of Ideas — The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).

  • Originality — The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.

4 Technologies

  • Access software — Citrix cloud computing software

  • Accounting software — Tax software

  • Analytical or scientific software — IBM SPSS Statistics; Minitab; SAS; The MathWorks MATLAB

  • Application server software — Docker; GitHub; Red Hat OpenShift; Spring Boot

  • Backup or archival software — Veritas NetBackup

  • Business intelligence and data analysis software — IBM Cognos Impromptu; Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition; Qlik Tech QlikView; Tableau

  • Cloud-based management software — Amazon Web Services AWS CloudFormation; IBM WebSphere; Splunk Enterprise

  • Clustering software — VMware

  • Communications server software — IBM Domino

  • Compiler and decompiler software — Command interpreters; Inline code expander software; Retargetable compiler; Threaded code compiler

  • Computer aided design CAD software — Bentley MicroStation; Computer aided design and drafting CADD software; Dassault Systemes CATIA

  • Configuration management software — Chef; Perforce Helix software; Puppet; Revision control software

  • Content workflow software — Atlassian JIRA; Emerald Software Group Emerald Green Office; Workflow software

  • Data base management system software — Amazon DynamoDB; Elasticsearch; MongoDB; Oracle PL/SQL

  • Data base reporting software — Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services SSRS; ReCrystallize Crystal Reports; SAP Crystal Reports

  • Data base user interface and query software — Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud EC2; Apache Hive; IBM DB2; Transact-SQL

  • Data mining software — Google Analytics

  • Desktop publishing software — Microsoft Publisher

  • Development environment software — Apache Kafka; Apache Maven; Go; Microsoft PowerShell

  • Document management software — Adobe Acrobat; Microsoft SharePoint; Virage VS Archive

  • Electronic mail software — IBM Notes; Microsoft Exchange

  • Enterprise application integration software — Extensible markup language XML; IBM InfoSphere DataStage; Microsoft SQL Server Integration Services SSIS; SAP NetWeaver BW

  • Enterprise resource planning ERP software — Microsoft Dynamics; Oracle JD Edwards EnterpriseOne; Oracle PeopleSoft; SAP software

  • Enterprise system management software — IBM Power Systems software; Microsoft Systems Management Server

  • Expert system software — Ansible software

  • File versioning software — Apache Subversion SVN; Git

  • Financial analysis software — Delphi Technology; Oracle E-Business Suite Financials

  • Geographic information system — ESRI ArcGIS software; Geographic information system GIS software

  • Graphical user interface development software — Basis BBx VisualPRO/5; Graphical user interface GUI design software; Salesforce Visualforce

  • Graphics or photo imaging software — Adobe Illustrator; Adobe Photoshop; Corel CorelDraw Graphics Suite

  • Human resources software — Human resource management software HRMS

  • Industrial control software — Supervisory control and data acquisition SCADA software

  • Medical software — Epic Systems

  • Metadata management software — Quest Erwin Data Modeler

  • Network monitoring software — Nagios; Network intrusion prevention systems NIPS; Snort; Wireshark

  • Network security and virtual private network VPN equipment software — Virtual private networking VPN software

  • Object or component oriented development software — Apache Spark; jQuery; Scala; Swift

  • Object oriented data base management software — Hibernate ORM; Microsoft Visual FoxPro; PostgreSQL

  • Office suite software — Microsoft Office software

  • Operating system software — Bash; Microsoft Windows Server; Red Hat Enterprise Linux; UNIX Shell

  • Portal server software — Apache HTTP Server

  • Presentation software — Microsoft PowerPoint

  • Process mapping and design software — Microsoft Visio

  • Program testing software — Hewlett Packard LoadRunner; JUnit; Selenium; Symbolic debugger software

  • Project management software — Atlassian Confluence; Microsoft Project

  • Requirements analysis and system architecture software — Unified modeling language UML

  • Spreadsheet software — Microsoft Excel

  • Storage networking software — Amazon Simple Storage Service S3

  • Transaction security and virus protection software — McAfee

  • Transaction server software — Customer information control system CICS

  • Web page creation and editing software — Adobe Dreamweaver; CoffeeCup The HTML Editor; Microsoft FrontPage

  • Web platform development software — Django; Google Angular; React; Spring Framework

  • Word processing software — Microsoft Word

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