To achieve the required skills for the job, they might obtain a computer science or associate degree, attend a programming boot camp or be self-taught.

In 1941, German civil engineer Konrad Zuse was the first person to execute a program on a working, program-controlled, electronic computer.

[5] From 1943 to 1945, per computer scientist Wolfgang K. Giloi and AI professor Raúl Rojas et al., Zuse created the first, high-level programming language, Plankalkül.

Many of these programs were written in-house by full-time staff programmers; some were distributed between users of a particular machine for no charge, while others were sold on a commercial basis.

In the following years, the PC also helped create a constantly growing market for games, applications and utility software.

[13] Programmers work in many settings, including corporate information technology (IT) departments, big software companies, small service firms and government entities of all sizes.

For example, the instructions involved in updating financial records are very different from those required to duplicate conditions on an aircraft for pilots training in a flight simulator.

[19][20] In addition, enrollment in computer-related degrees and other STEM degrees (STEM attrition)[21] in the US has been dropping for years, especially for women,[22] which, according to Beaubouef and Mason,[23] could be attributed to a lack of general interest in science and mathematics and also out of an apparent fear that programming will be subject to the same pressures as manufacturing and agriculture careers.

[26] However, for software developers BLS projects current growth at 17%[27] that is down from their prediction from 2019 to 2029 of a 22% increase in employment, from 1,469,200 to 1,785,200 jobs with a median base salary of $110,000 per year.

Then there is the additional concern that recent advances in artificial intelligence might impact the demand for future generations of Software professions.

[32][33][34][35][36][37][38] As of 2024 in Japan, the demand for programmers is increasing rapidly due mainly to the aging demographics of their workforce and their low birth rate not being sufficient for replacement has lead to more use of AI to help fill the gap.