how much money do software engineers make
Systems Software Engineers. Systems software engineers design the operating systems and interface systems that allow computers to properly function. As of 2012, the BLS reports that systems software engineers earned an average hourly wage of $49.30 and an average annual salary of $102,550. Half of all systems software engineers working in the United States earned between $37.95 and $59.40 per hour, with the highest-paid 10 percent earning $71.56 or more per hour. Geographically, average hourly earnings ranged from a low of $31.57 in North Dakota to a high of $55.50 in California.