The 2022 Developer Relations Compensation Report

Today, we’re excited to share our 2022 Developer Relations Compensation Report with the community.

The report, based on the lived experiences of 147 Developer Relations professionals who completed our online survey across June and July, offers a foundational set of compensation data that we, and the rest of the community, can use to deepen our understanding of the Developer Relations field and its associated roles, responsibilities, and compensation expectations as it continues to grow and evolve.

So, what did we find?

We’ve highlighted five compensation, industry, demographic, and experience stats as reported by Developer Relations professionals. To dig deeper into each of these, read the full report. 

• Median gross total compensation: $180,000 USD equivalent, pre-tax, across all DevRel professionals globally.

• Industry that pays the highest DevRel salaries: Cloud Infrastructure.

• Top four roles and responsibilities in DevRel: Creating educational content and resources, delivering in-person talks and workshops, building brand awareness and affinity, and building and managing community programs.

• Gender and racial identification: The majority of DevRel professionals identify as male and white.

• Previous experience dependencies: Developer Relations professionals with previous experience in software engineering earn 26.3% higher median salaries than those without.

Something we loved, and what we hope to see more of

We love that a majority of Developer Relations professionals responded that they believe their organizations value their work. 61.2% of DevRel builders reported that their organizations view Developer Relations as either of “mission-critical importance” or “quite important” to the company’s success. As we continue this research, we hope to see that number continue to rise.

Demographically, while people who identify as male currently dominate the Developer Relations field overall, the data suggests that new entrants into the field in associate/specialist roles are nearly equal in terms of gender identification, with ~3% more individuals who identify as female.

If trends continue as reflected in this data they suggest that, over time, the field may move toward more balanced representation across gender identities, provided that people who identify as a part of a currently underrepresented group in senior+ roles (female, non-binary, and gender-fluid individuals) remain in the field, are empowered with career opportunities, and continue to grow in their seniority.

This is the beginning

Ultimately, this initial report sets the stage for more data collection and analysis in the future. In subsequent reports, we look forward to representing more varied and diverse experiences across the industry to be able to better compare, inform, and evaluate the profession’s growth, gaps, and trends.

For now, it’s our humble hope that, with this report as a community resource, Developer Relations professionals will feel more informed, confident, and empowered when they enter their next compensation conversation.

🥑

For more, read the full report.

Editor's note - August 4, 2022: Based on community request, we also published compensation ranges for applicable key findings which were previously shown as medians in our original report.

The 2022 Developer Relations Compensation Report is produced with special thanks to DevRel leaders and collaborators Mary Thengvall, Tessa Kriesel, Shawn (swyx) Wang, Ahmad Awais, the DevRelX team at SlashData, and Developer Relations and Developer Advocate communities everywhere.

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