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Know AI. Prove It.

From software developer to web developer

A career change with AI in view: what carries over, what to build, and how AI is changing both jobs.

Can a software developer become a web developer?

It is a move the US Department of Labor's occupational database recognizes: O*NET lists web developers as one of the ten occupations it rates most closely related to software developers, from what people in both jobs do, know and are called. Of the skills the new job rates important, you already work at or above its level in critical thinking, reading comprehension and active listening. O*NET rates none of its important skills half a level or more above yours; the gap is in the knowledge and tasks of the job. BLS says web developers typically need a bachelor's degree to enter.

Both jobs, side by sideYour skills, comparedStart free: lesson 1

Both jobs, side by side

Published measures only, each from its own source. We do not blend them into a score.

MeasureSoftware developerWeb developer
Jobs outlook, 2025 to 2035up 10.2%up 3.8%
Openings a year95,3005,300
Median pay, 2025$135,980$92,650
Typical education to enterBachelor's degreeBachelor's degree
Experience in a related jobNoneNone
On-the-job trainingNoneNone
How people use AI on this work39% working with AI, 61% handing tasks over45% working with AI, 55% handing tasks over
How much of the work AI can assist (0 to 1)0.280.35

What these do not mean: the outlook, pay, education and training are the US Bureau of Labor Statistics' ten year projection and worker characteristics, revised every year, and say nothing about any one employer or person. How people use AI comes from Anthropic's Economic Index and describes people who already use one AI assistant. Microsoft Research rates how much AI can assist the work; “Our metrics should not be misconstrued or misrepresented as measuring the ability of AI to replace jobs.”

What you bring

Skills the new job rates important where O*NET rates your current job at or above the level it needs.

  • Critical Thinking

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

    O*NET level in your job 4.1, needed in the new job 3.9 (of 7); importance there 3.8 (of 5).

  • Reading Comprehension

    Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.

    O*NET level in your job 4.3, needed in the new job 4.0 (of 7); importance there 3.6 (of 5).

  • 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.

    O*NET level in your job 3.9, needed in the new job 3.5 (of 7); importance there 3.5 (of 5).

  • Active Learning

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

    O*NET level in your job 3.6, needed in the new job 3.6 (of 7); importance there 3.5 (of 5).

  • Judgment and Decision Making

    Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

    O*NET level in your job 3.8, needed in the new job 3.4 (of 7); importance there 3.4 (of 5).

What to build

Skills the new job rates important and needs at a level 0.5 or more higher than your current job (on O*NET's scale of 0 to 7), biggest step first.

O*NET rates none of the new job's important skills that far above your current job. The gap is in what the job knows and does, below.

Where AI already shows up in the new job

Core tasks of the work, from O*NET, that appear in real AI use. Arrive able to direct AI on these and check what it produces.

  • Write supporting code for Web applications or Web sites.
  • Design, build, or maintain Web sites, using authoring or scripting languages, content creation tools, management tools, and digital media.
  • Perform or direct Web site updates.
  • Select programming languages, design tools, or applications.

Everything AI changes for web developers

What to learn first for the move

The first AI skills for the new job, in order. Each is taught in GAGE's AI literacy program, Certified AI Practitioner: Workplace Foundations.

  1. 1.Review every line of AI written code as if a stranger wrote it

    Taught in Module 4, Practical AI Workflow Design and Prompt Engineering; Module 6, AI in the Workplace and Team Leadership

  2. 2.Defend web apps against prompt injection when you add AI features

    Taught in Module 10, AI Security Fundamentals

  3. 3.Test after every AI assisted change, and keep backups you trust

    Taught in Module 4, Practical AI Workflow Design and Prompt Engineering; Module 9, Agentic AI and Workforce Integration

Start free: lesson 1See the whole program
Direct it. Catch it. Prove it. (56 s)

Show a new employer you can do it

Changing careers means proving yourself to someone who has not seen your work. At GAGE you explain each idea back in your own words and it is graded against the lesson, so your record shows what you understood. An employer can check it with one link.

Going the other way? From web developer to software developer.

Questions

Can a software developer become a web developer?
It is a move the US Department of Labor's occupational database recognizes: O*NET lists web developers as one of the ten occupations it rates most closely related to software developers, from what people in both jobs do, know and are called. Of the skills the new job rates important, you already work at or above its level in critical thinking, reading comprehension and active listening. O*NET rates none of its important skills half a level or more above yours; the gap is in the knowledge and tasks of the job. BLS says web developers typically need a bachelor's degree to enter.
Is a web developer safer from AI than a software developer?
No published measure ranks jobs by safety, and we do not blend the measures into one. Through 2035, BLS projects web developers to grow 3.8 percent, and software developers to grow 10.2 percent. On how much of the work AI can assist, Microsoft Research rates web developer 0.35 and software developer 0.28 out of 1, which its authors say is not a measure of job loss. In both jobs, the person who can direct AI and check its work is the one a team keeps.
What should I learn first to move from software developer to web developer?
Review every line of AI written code as if a stranger wrote it; Defend web apps against prompt injection when you add AI features; Test after every AI assisted change, and keep backups you trust. Those are the first AI skills for the new job, and GAGE teaches each of them in its AI literacy program. The first lesson is free.

How this move was chosen, and sources

O*NET lists web developers as one of the ten occupations it rates most closely related to software developers (number 9 in its order). We publish a move only when O*NET places it among the ten most related and both jobs have a page here, and we keep O*NET's order. A skill is compared when the new job rates it 3 or more for importance (of 5); it is a step up at a level 0.5 or more higher (of 7); it carries over when your current job is rated at or above the level needed. Ratings O*NET marks as low precision are left out.

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