NJ Civil Service Navigator

Software Development Specialist Family

Career series with 11 positions across 3 levels

Software Development Specialist groups 11 related titles into a 3-level career ladder.

Entry is typically through Software Development Specialist 1, advancing through the ladder toward Software Development Specialist 3. Pay across the family spans $66,592 to $148,187, around the 78th percentile of all civil service job families by top pay. State payroll records show 884 people across the family's titles, most concentrated at Treasury.

Software Development Specialist commonly advances into Program Specialist and Hazardous Site Mitigation Specialist.

11
Positions
3
Career Levels
1
Specializations
Salary Range: $66,592 - $148,187/year

Specializations

Oit

Positions in This Family

What the Software Development Specialist family covers

Software Development Specialist covers 11 title codes arranged into 3 levels of responsibility. The family straddles jurisdictions: 8 state, 2 local, and 1 both state and local, so parts of it are hired by state departments and parts by local civil service employers.

New Jersey's technology titles carry the sediment of several eras at once. Newer families cover software development, network administration and database work, while older ones still name data processing, automated typewriters and input and output control. The Office of Information Technology holds most of the modern posts, but agencies keep their own analysts. Information processing titles are the second group in the compendium eligible for advanced-step hiring, which is the state's standing acknowledgement that it cannot fill them at step one.

The ladder, ordered by pay

The Software Development Specialist rungs, listed from the best paid down. Here the numbering happens to agree with the pay order, which is not guaranteed elsewhere in New Jersey's plan.

The distance from the bottom of Software Development Specialist 1 to the top of Software Development Specialist 3 is $81,595, an increase of about 123% over the entry minimum.

What each title does

Reading the definitions side by side is the quickest way to see what changes as you move through the family.

  • Software Development Specialist 3: Under general supervision in a state or local government agency, performs analysis, consulting, design, programming, maintenance, and support work on…
  • Software Development Specialist 2: Under limited supervision in a state or local government agency, performs analysis, consulting, design, programming, maintenance, and/or support work on…
  • Software Development Specialist 2 Oit: Under the limited supervision of a supervisory official in the Office of Information Technology, performs analysis, consulting, design, programming…
  • Software Development Specialist 1: Under close supervision and monitoring in a state or local government agency, performs analysis, maintenance, programming and support work on modules of…
  • Software Development Specialist 1 Oit: Under the close supervision and monitoring of a supervisory official in the Office of Information Technology, performs routine analysis…
  • Software Development Specialist 2: Under limited supervision in a state or local government agency, performs analysis, consulting, design, programming, maintenance, and/or support…

Requirements across the family

Across the 11 titles we have parsed, the education requirements read as a master's degree on 11 of them. Stated experience runs from 1 year at the lowest rung to 2 at the highest, which is the main thing separating one level from the next.

On how the jobs are filled: 6 are competitive, filled from an eligible list after an open competitive or promotional examination and 5 are non-competitive, appointed on proof of the stated qualifications rather than by examination. 9 titles in this family are covered by the compendium's special incentive program, which lets an appointing authority hire a qualified candidate above the bottom step instead of starting them at step one. See the full list of incentive titles.

Who actually employs these titles

State payroll records show 884 people working under 5 of this family's titles, spread across 22 agencies. Treasury alone accounts for about 16% of them.

  • Treasury — 144 employees
  • Office of Information Technology — 130 employees
  • Human Services — 106 employees
  • Health and Senior Services — 87 employees
  • Motor Vehicle Commission — 87 employees
  • Labor — 61 employees

Those are the 6 largest of 22 agencies employing this family.

Median actual pay varies across the family, from $85,145 for Software Development Specialist 1 up to $136,605 for Software Development Specialist 3. Those are medians of what people are really paid, not schedule minimums and maximums.

State payroll only, deduplicated by payroll title; local employers file separately, so a family with local codes looks smaller here than it is. How this is counted.

How the pay is set

Titles in this family are paid on the A-P-R-S salary schedule. See every step in that schedule. Bargaining is handled by CWA. Union contracts and rights are collected here.

Where these jobs exist

Because the family mixes jurisdictions, the answer to "who hires this" depends on the specific code. State codes run through the Civil Service Commission's announcement and eligible list process; local codes are hired by the counties, municipalities and authorities that adopted civil service under Title 11A. Check an employer's status before assuming a title is available where you live.

Related titles elsewhere in the plan

Other classifications built on the same terms as Software Development Specialist. Worth checking if this family has no current opening.

Families next to this one

New Jersey's classification plan links families by shared terminology and by the routes people actually take between them. These sit closest to Software Development Specialist.

Common questions about Software Development Specialist jobs

How many Software Development Specialist titles are there in New Jersey civil service?

The Software Development Specialist family holds 11 title codes arranged across 3 levels. Each code is a separate classification with its own published specification, requirements and salary treatment.

What does a Software Development Specialist earn in New Jersey?

Published salary data for this family runs from $66,592 at the bottom of Software Development Specialist 1 to $148,187 at the top of Software Development Specialist 3. Those are schedule figures. Where the title appears on the state payroll, actual median pay is listed on the page above.

Do you need to take an exam to become a Software Development Specialist?

Yes for most of the family. 6 of the 11 titles are in the competitive division, which means appointment comes from an eligible list built by an open competitive or promotional examination.

What qualifications does a Software Development Specialist need?

The most common education requirement in this family is a master's degree, named on 11 of the 11 titles. Stated experience ranges from 1 to 2 years depending on the rung. Read the individual specification for the exact wording, including any experience substitution.

Which agencies employ Software Development Specialist staff?

State payroll records show 884 people in this family across 22 agencies, with Treasury the largest at 144. Local government employers are not covered by that extract.