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Computer Programmers

SOC 15-1251.00Job Zone 4 · Considerable Preparationv.26.05

Context coveredThis framework covers professional software development contexts ranging from entry-level coding tasks on structured projects to principal-level technical leadership and organizational strategy in enterprise and commercial computing environments.

Sources:O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.SkillsCrosswalkSkillsCrosswalk — O*NET enrichment + adjacency index. Opens in new tab.
Emerging
Entry / Apprentice
  1. Basic program logic and workflow diagrams — construct and interpret under direct supervision using standard charting conventions in a structured development environment.
  2. Simple coded instructions — write and trace through using a designated programming language while following team coding standards on an assigned project.
  3. Known syntax errors and runtime exceptions — identify and correct by reviewing compiler output under the guidance of a senior programmer.
  4. Trial runs of small software modules — execute and document results in a controlled test environment to confirm that outputs match expected specifications.
  5. Existing program documentation and inline comments — read and apply to understand code intent before making minor updates to a maintained codebase.
  6. Basic database queries and data retrieval operations — write and test using standard SQL syntax within an established database management system.
  7. Version control procedures — follow consistently when committing, branching, and merging code changes in a team repository environment.
  8. Program requirements and task assignments — receive, interpret, and clarify with a supervisor before beginning development work on a software module.
  9. Standard development environment tools including editors, debuggers, and compilers — set up and operate under guidance on a departmental workstation.
  10. Initial program documentation drafts — prepare by recording development steps and inserting explanatory comments in coded instructions as directed by a lead programmer.
Developing
Mid-level / Established
  1. Workflow charts and logical diagrams — develop independently to describe input, output, and processing steps before converting them into coded instructions for routine business applications.
  2. Existing programs requiring efficiency improvements or new functionality — revise and expand with limited oversight, applying knowledge of system capabilities and symbolic logic.
  3. Recurring defects and logic errors — diagnose and resolve by making targeted code changes and re-running validation tests across familiar application components.
  4. Software packages supporting specific operational tasks such as inventory tracking or data retrieval — write, update, and maintain in alignment with defined user requirements.
  5. Trial runs of updated programs and software applications — conduct systematically and document findings to verify correct outputs before releasing changes to a staging environment.
  6. Stakeholder clarifications on program intent and functional requirements — gather through structured consultations with technical and managerial personnel and incorporate into revised specifications.
  7. Object-oriented and component-based design patterns — apply routinely when developing modular code within an established application architecture.
  8. Web platform development tools and related frameworks — use to build and maintain web-based application features according to project standards and timelines.
  9. Comprehensive program revision histories and technical documentation — compile and maintain so that teammates can understand design decisions and subsequent code changes.
  10. Time and task estimates for assigned development work — produce and manage independently, adjusting priorities in response to shifting project requirements within a development team.
Proficient
Senior / Expert IC
  1. Complex, non-routine programs spanning multiple subsystems — design, write, and optimize autonomously by applying advanced symbolic logic and deep knowledge of computer capabilities across the full software development lifecycle.
  2. Cross-functional requirements from engineering, operations, and management stakeholders — analyze, reconcile, and translate into precise program specifications and architectural decisions without supervisory direction.
  3. Systemic performance bottlenecks and logic failures in large, production codebases — isolate, repair, and validate through rigorous testing and analysis of system-wide behavior.
  4. Existing legacy programs — evaluate for operational efficiency, lead refactoring efforts, and adapt them to new technical or business requirements while preserving data integrity.
  5. End-to-end test plans for critical software applications — design and execute to ensure reliability, correctness, and compliance with quality standards before production deployment.
  6. Detailed workflow models for complex data processing pipelines — author and convert into scalable, maintainable code using appropriate languages and cloud-based or storage networking tools.
  7. Database architecture and management system configurations — assess, optimize, and maintain to support high-volume data storage and retrieval demands in enterprise environments.
  8. Technical documentation and code commentary for sophisticated modules — produce at a level of depth and clarity sufficient for onboarding new team members and supporting long-term maintenance.
  9. Emerging programming languages, frameworks, and development tools — evaluate critically and integrate selectively into the team's technology stack based on sound systems analysis.
  10. Quality control analyses of software outputs and system behavior — conduct independently and present findings with recommended corrective actions to technical leadership.
Advanced
Lead / Principal / Executive
  1. Organization-wide programming standards, coding conventions, and software development methodologies — establish and champion to ensure consistency, quality, and scalability across all development teams.
  2. Strategic technical direction for large-scale software initiatives — set by synthesizing business objectives, engineering constraints, and emerging technology trends at the executive or principal level.
  3. Junior and mid-level programmers — mentor and develop through structured code reviews, pair programming sessions, and individualized feedback within a professional development framework.
  4. Enterprise software architecture decisions — lead by evaluating system-level trade-offs, directing feasibility analyses, and aligning technology choices with long-term organizational goals.
  5. Cross-departmental technology consultations involving senior management and engineering leadership — facilitate to define program intent, surface systemic problems, and drive adoption of high-impact solutions.
  6. Policies for documentation, version control, and program lifecycle management — author and enforce across the department to sustain institutional knowledge and reduce technical debt at scale.
  7. Critical system failures and high-severity production incidents — direct diagnosis and resolution efforts, coordinating multiple programming teams under pressure and communicating status to executive stakeholders.
  8. Innovation roadmaps for tooling, platforms, and development environments — define and prioritize by evaluating cloud-based, database, and web development technologies for long-range competitive advantage.
  9. Organizational risk posture related to software quality, technical debt, and security — assess through advanced systems evaluation and advise senior leadership on mitigation strategies and investment priorities.
  10. Workforce planning for programming talent including hiring criteria, onboarding curricula, and skills gap analyses — lead to build a high-performing development organization aligned to strategic business needs.

AI-at-Work Competency Framework

Sources:Anthropic Economic IndexAnthropic Economic Index — release_2026_03_24. Opens in new tab.Jadhav & Danve, 2026Skill Automation Feasibility Index — Jadhav & Danve, 2026 (arXiv:2604.06906). Opens in new tab.WEF Skills TaxonomyWEF Skills Taxonomy 2021 — Building a Common Language for Skills at Work. Opens in new tab.
Subscriber feature

Authoritative source data identified for 998 occupations

How a worker at each mastery level uses, directs, and evaluates AI tools in this occupation. Each statement cites its evidence inline; click a citation chip to verify the source.

Emerging
  1. AI-assisted boilerplate generation — accepts in-editor code completions for standard constructs such as loops, conditionals, and function stubs, while manually implementing all logic that requires domain understanding Anthropic Economic IndexAnthropic Economic Index — release_2026_03_24. Opens in new tab..
  2. Basic error correction delegation — submits isolated syntax errors and stack traces to an AI assistant, then reads the suggested fix and applies it only after tracing through the affected lines by hand Anthropic Economic IndexAnthropic Economic Index — release_2026_03_24. Opens in new tab..
Developing
  1. Routine program drafting — directs an AI tool to produce first-draft implementations of well-specified, self-contained functions, then reviews and rewrites the output against requirements before integration Anthropic Economic IndexAnthropic Economic Index — release_2026_03_24. Opens in new tab. Jadhav & Danve, 2026Skill Automation Feasibility Index — Jadhav & Danve, 2026 (arXiv:2604.06906). Opens in new tab..
  2. Debugging workflow acceleration — hands off reproducible bug reports with relevant context to an AI assistant, validates each proposed change against existing tests, and documents the confirmed fix in version control Anthropic Economic IndexAnthropic Economic Index — release_2026_03_24. Opens in new tab..
  3. Code review support — uses an AI assistant to flag common quality issues (off-by-one errors, unused variables, style violations) across a module, then applies critical thinking to accept, modify, or reject each flagged item WEF Skills TaxonomyWEF Skills Taxonomy 2021 — Building a Common Language for Skills at Work. Opens in new tab..
Proficient
  1. Cross-cutting refactor direction — orchestrates an AI agent through multi-file restructuring tasks by supplying a detailed plan, reviewing incremental diffs, and retaining full authorship of architectural decisions Anthropic Economic IndexAnthropic Economic Index — release_2026_03_24. Opens in new tab. Jadhav & Danve, 2026Skill Automation Feasibility Index — Jadhav & Danve, 2026 (arXiv:2604.06906). Opens in new tab..
  2. Requirements-to-code translation — converts ambiguous stakeholder requirements into precise AI prompts, iterates on generated program drafts, and reconciles the output with systems-analysis constraints before deployment WEF Skills TaxonomyWEF Skills Taxonomy 2021 — Building a Common Language for Skills at Work. Opens in new tab..
  3. Automated test generation oversight — delegates production of unit and integration test suites to an AI tool, audits coverage gaps, and adds manually authored edge-case tests where AI output proves insufficient Anthropic Economic IndexAnthropic Economic Index — release_2026_03_24. Opens in new tab..
  4. Program expansion and adaptation — directs AI-assisted rewriting of legacy modules to meet new operating requirements, benchmarks efficiency gains, and owns the final architectural judgment on every structural change Jadhav & Danve, 2026Skill Automation Feasibility Index — Jadhav & Danve, 2026 (arXiv:2604.06906). Opens in new tab..
Advanced
  1. High-autonomy pipeline design — architects end-to-end AI-assisted development workflows where the AI agent handles repetitive coding, documentation, and initial code review at high autonomy, while the programmer governs acceptance criteria and release gates Anthropic Economic IndexAnthropic Economic Index — release_2026_03_24. Opens in new tab. Jadhav & Danve, 2026Skill Automation Feasibility Index — Jadhav & Danve, 2026 (arXiv:2604.06906). Opens in new tab..
  2. AI displacement risk mitigation — identifies Programming tasks that fall within the Q1 high-displacement quadrant, redistributes human effort toward complex problem-solving and systems analysis activities that remain below the automation threshold, and advises teams on sustainable human-AI task allocation Jadhav & Danve, 2026Skill Automation Feasibility Index — Jadhav & Danve, 2026 (arXiv:2604.06906). Opens in new tab. WEF Skills TaxonomyWEF Skills Taxonomy 2021 — Building a Common Language for Skills at Work. Opens in new tab..
  3. Organisational AI tooling evaluation — benchmarks competing AI coding assistants against production metrics (time saved, defect rate, maintainability), synthesises findings into adoption recommendations, and trains junior programmers on responsible delegation boundaries Anthropic Economic IndexAnthropic Economic Index — release_2026_03_24. Opens in new tab..
  4. Consultative AI mediation — leads cross-functional sessions with managerial and engineering stakeholders to reframe program intent as structured AI prompts, translates ambiguous change requests into verifiable AI task specifications, and arbitrates when AI-generated proposals conflict with business logic or system constraints WEF Skills TaxonomyWEF Skills Taxonomy 2021 — Building a Common Language for Skills at Work. Opens in new tab..
  5. Continuous competency evolution — monitors shifts in AI autonomy benchmarks and automation feasibility scores for programming skills, updates team coding standards accordingly, and rebuilds personal mastery around judgment-intensive activities that AI tools cannot reliably perform Jadhav & Danve, 2026Skill Automation Feasibility Index — Jadhav & Danve, 2026 (arXiv:2604.06906). Opens in new tab. Anthropic Economic IndexAnthropic Economic Index — release_2026_03_24. Opens in new tab..
Evidence pack
AEI usage
Task observations: 69969
Augment share: 95%
Time saved: 82.8%
AI autonomy: 3.13
SAFI positioning
Top skill: Programming
Score: 71.8 / 100
Quadrant: Q1_high_displacement_risk
precision: exact
WEF cluster
Artificial Intelligence
artificial_intelligence
Sources:Anthropic Economic IndexAnthropic Economic Index — release_2026_03_24. Opens in new tab.Jadhav & Danve, 2026Skill Automation Feasibility Index — Jadhav & Danve, 2026 (arXiv:2604.06906). Opens in new tab.WEF Skills TaxonomyWEF Skills Taxonomy 2021 — Building a Common Language for Skills at Work. Opens in new tab.

Pathsmith Durable Skills Framework

Sources:Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
Subscriber feature

Ten durable-skill domains mapped to four proficiency/role levels for each occupation. Each statement is aligned to the Pathsmith taxonomy, derived from trusted grounding data and mapped to occupation-specific O*NET tasks and skills.

1Communication12 statements
Emerging
  1. Code documentation basics — writes inline comments describing the purpose of functions and variables within assigned code sections Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab. O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
  2. Stakeholder inquiry — asks clarifying questions when receiving program specifications to confirm understanding of requirements before coding begins Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab. O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
  3. Technical vocabulary — uses standard programming terminology when discussing assignments with senior developers and team leads Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
Developing
  1. Requirements elicitation — engages in structured conversations with managerial and technical personnel to clarify program intent and identify ambiguous specifications O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
  2. Program documentation — compiles written documentation of program development and revisions, including workflow charts and diagrams that describe input, output, and logical operations O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
  3. Cross-functional update — communicates progress, blockers, and technical constraints to non-technical stakeholders using accessible language Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
Applying
  1. Technical specification writing — translates complex system requirements into detailed, unambiguous written specifications and pseudocode that guide development across a team Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab. O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
  2. Workflow diagram communication — prepares detailed workflow charts and diagrams that describe logical operations and converts them into coded instructions, making logic visible to collaborators O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
  3. Code review feedback — delivers precise, constructive written and verbal feedback during peer code reviews, referencing specific logic errors and improvement strategies Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
Exceeding
  1. Architecture communication — presents complex system design decisions to mixed audiences of engineers, managers, and clients, translating technical tradeoffs into business impact Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab. O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
  2. Documentation standards leadership — establishes team-wide documentation conventions and comment standards that ensure long-term code maintainability and knowledge transfer O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
  3. Cross-team technical liaison — serves as the primary communication bridge between engineering, QA, and business units, synthesizing and translating technical requirements across organizational boundaries Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab. O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
2Leadership11 statements
Emerging
  1. Task ownership — takes full responsibility for completing assigned programming tasks on time and flags issues proactively to the team lead Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
  2. Peer support — assists junior teammates by sharing code snippets, explaining logic patterns, and pointing to relevant documentation Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
Developing
  1. Initiative in debugging — independently identifies and resolves errors in programs without waiting for direction, documenting the root cause and fix for team awareness Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab. O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
  2. Technical mentoring — guides less experienced programmers through debugging processes and code structure decisions during paired programming sessions Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
  3. Scope management — takes initiative to flag scope creep or requirement changes that affect program delivery timelines to project leads O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
Applying
  1. Project module ownership — leads the design, development, testing, and documentation of a discrete program module or software package from specification to deployment Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab. O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
  2. Code review leadership — organizes and facilitates structured code reviews, setting quality standards and ensuring team adherence to coding best practices Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
  3. Stakeholder consultation leadership — leads technical consultation sessions with engineering and managerial personnel to define program intent and resolve conflicting requirements O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
Exceeding
  1. Technical team leadership — directs the work of a programming team across the full software development lifecycle, setting priorities, resolving escalated technical issues, and ensuring delivery quality Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab. O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
  2. Standards authorship — authors and champions organization-wide coding standards, review processes, and quality benchmarks adopted across multiple development teams Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
  3. Emerging programmer development — designs and delivers structured onboarding and mentorship programs that accelerate the growth of junior computer programmers into independent contributors Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
3Metacognition11 statements
Emerging
  1. Learning gap recognition — identifies specific programming concepts or language features that are unfamiliar and seeks out documentation or tutorials before attempting implementation Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
  2. Error reflection — after correcting a program bug, articulates what assumption or knowledge gap led to the original mistake Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab. O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
Developing
  1. Debugging strategy awareness — selects between multiple debugging approaches such as logging, breakpoints, or unit testing based on conscious assessment of which method suits the error type Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab. O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
  2. Learning strategy calibration — adjusts study and practice methods when acquiring a new programming language or framework based on which approaches produce faster comprehension Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
  3. Self-assessment before submission — reviews own code against requirements and quality criteria before submitting for review, catching logical and syntactic errors independently Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab. O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
Applying
  1. Cognitive load management — structures complex programming problems into decomposed subtasks to manage mental complexity and maintain accuracy across long coding sessions Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
  2. Approach evaluation — reflects on completed programs to assess whether the chosen algorithm or architecture was optimal, documenting lessons learned for future projects Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab. O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
  3. Knowledge boundary articulation — clearly communicates to stakeholders the limits of current technical knowledge and the steps being taken to fill those gaps before they affect delivery Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
Exceeding
  1. Meta-learning leadership — coaches team members on effective strategies for learning new languages, frameworks, and paradigms, improving collective onboarding speed Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
  2. Systematic post-mortem — leads structured retrospectives after major program failures or deployments, identifying systemic cognitive and process errors that contributed to defects Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab. O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
  3. Adaptive expertise modeling — models and teaches the ability to transfer problem-solving approaches from familiar domains to novel technical challenges across the team Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
4Critical Thinking12 statements
Emerging
  1. Requirements analysis — reads program specifications and identifies the logical steps required to produce the desired output before writing any code Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab. O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
  2. Error identification — uses error messages and program output to identify the location and type of a coding mistake O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
  3. Assumption checking — questions whether initial understanding of a task requirement is correct before investing significant coding effort Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
Developing
  1. Logic verification — traces program logic manually or through test runs to verify that instructions will produce the desired results under expected conditions O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
  2. Systems analysis — evaluates how a new or modified program module interacts with existing system components, identifying potential conflicts or inefficiencies O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
  3. Evidence-based debugging — applies systematic reasoning to isolate the root cause of program errors rather than applying trial-and-error fixes Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab. O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
Applying
  1. Algorithmic evaluation — compares multiple algorithmic approaches for a given problem on criteria including time complexity, memory usage, and maintainability before selecting an implementation strategy Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab. O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
  2. Quality control analysis — designs and executes trial runs that test program behavior across edge cases, invalid inputs, and boundary conditions to ensure correctness O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
  3. Requirement conflict resolution — identifies logical contradictions or infeasible requirements in program specifications and constructs evidence-based arguments for alternative approaches Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab. O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
Exceeding
  1. Architectural risk analysis — evaluates proposed system architectures for long-term scalability, security vulnerabilities, and maintenance costs, producing structured recommendations for engineering leadership Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab. O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
  2. Cross-system impact assessment — analyzes the downstream effects of major program changes on dependent systems, data pipelines, and end-user workflows before authorizing implementation O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
  3. Critical thinking culture — establishes norms within the development team that require evidence-based justification for architectural decisions and algorithmic choices Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
5Collaboration12 statements
Emerging
  1. Version control participation — commits code to shared repositories with clear commit messages that communicate the purpose of changes to teammates Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab. O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
  2. Feedback receptivity — incorporates code review feedback from senior programmers into revised submissions without defensiveness Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
  3. Shared codebase awareness — reads and understands existing code written by others before making modifications to avoid breaking dependent functionality O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
Developing
  1. Pair programming — collaborates synchronously with a peer programmer to solve complex logic problems, alternating driver and navigator roles to improve solution quality Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
  2. Cross-functional consultation — participates in meetings with engineering, QA, and business stakeholders to align program requirements and negotiate feasible implementation approaches O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
  3. Dependency coordination — communicates proactively with teammates about code dependencies to prevent integration conflicts during concurrent development Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
Applying
  1. Integration collaboration — coordinates with systems analysts, database administrators, and QA engineers to ensure that program modules integrate correctly within the broader system architecture O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
  2. Collaborative debugging — leads joint debugging sessions with multiple programmers, facilitating structured problem-sharing and equitable contribution to the solution Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab. O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
  3. Requirement negotiation — works collaboratively with managerial and technical personnel to reconcile competing program requirements and reach consensus on implementation priorities O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
Exceeding
  1. Cross-team integration leadership — orchestrates collaboration across multiple development teams, QA, and operations to deliver complex multi-module software systems on schedule Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab. O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
  2. Collaborative culture building — models and reinforces inclusive, psychologically safe collaboration practices within the programming team, improving retention and output quality Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
  3. Open source contribution — leads team contributions to shared codebases or open-source projects, managing pull requests, code reviews, and community communication standards Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab. O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
6Character11 statements
Emerging
  1. Deadline honesty — accurately reports task completion status and raises blockers early rather than misrepresenting progress to project leads Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
  2. Code attribution — credits the work of other programmers when reusing or adapting their code and respects intellectual property and licensing requirements Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab. O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
Developing
  1. Defect accountability — takes ownership of bugs introduced into production code, documents the root cause, and implements a fix without deflecting responsibility Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab. O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
  2. Data handling ethics — writes programs that handle user and organizational data with appropriate access controls and privacy protections as specified in requirements Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab. O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
  3. Professional conduct — maintains respectful, solution-focused communication during high-pressure debugging or deployment situations Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
Applying
  1. Security-conscious programming — proactively identifies and mitigates security vulnerabilities such as injection risks and improper authentication in program code, even when not explicitly required in specifications Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab. O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
  2. Transparent estimation — provides honest, evidence-based time and complexity estimates for programming tasks rather than optimistic projections that create downstream problems Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
  3. Ethical conflict escalation — identifies and escalates program requirements that raise ethical concerns such as privacy violations or deceptive user interfaces to appropriate stakeholders Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
Exceeding
  1. Integrity modeling — demonstrates consistent ethical behavior in code quality, security, and communication that establishes the professional standard for the entire development team Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
  2. Policy authorship — develops and advocates for team-level policies on data ethics, software licensing, and responsible coding practices that align with organizational values Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab. O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
  3. Accountability culture — creates team norms where defects and failures are analyzed transparently and without blame, producing systemic improvements rather than individual punishment Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
7Creativity11 statements
Emerging
  1. Alternative solution exploration — generates at least two distinct algorithmic approaches to a programming problem before selecting an implementation path Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
  2. Creative workaround — identifies a functional workaround when a standard library or method does not fully meet requirements, rather than blocking on the limitation Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab. O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
Developing
  1. Elegant refactoring — rewrites existing inefficient code into a cleaner, more maintainable solution that achieves the same output with fewer lines or reduced complexity O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
  2. Novel data structure application — selects or adapts a non-obvious data structure to solve a performance problem that standard approaches handle inefficiently Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab. O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
  3. Prototype development — builds rapid proof-of-concept programs to test creative technical approaches before committing to full implementation Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
Applying
  1. Innovative efficiency improvement — designs an original algorithm or program architecture that measurably increases operating efficiency beyond the performance of the previous implementation O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
  2. Creative problem reframing — redefines a technical problem from a new perspective that reveals a simpler or more elegant solution than the one originally specified Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
  3. Automation invention — identifies and implements opportunities to automate manual processes through original program logic, reducing human effort and error rates O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
Exceeding
  1. Architectural innovation — conceives and implements a novel system architecture or programming paradigm that solves a previously intractable organizational problem Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab. O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
  2. Creative culture facilitation — structures hackathons, innovation sprints, or experimental coding sessions that generate novel solutions to persistent technical challenges Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
  3. Cross-domain synthesis — imports problem-solving approaches from mathematics, engineering, or other disciplines to generate programming solutions not derivable from standard software development practice Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab. O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
8Growth Mindset11 statements
Emerging
  1. Language learning initiative — begins learning a new programming language or framework in response to project needs, treating unfamiliarity as a solvable challenge Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
  2. Feedback integration — treats critical code review comments as learning data and applies the feedback to improve both the current submission and future coding habits Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
Developing
  1. Persistent debugging — continues systematic investigation of a complex program error through multiple failed hypotheses without abandoning the problem or seeking premature external resolution Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab. O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
  2. Skill stretch acceptance — volunteers for programming tasks that require learning new tools or techniques beyond current demonstrated competence Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
  3. Post-failure analysis — after a program fails a test suite or goes down in production, conducts a structured analysis focused on what can be learned rather than fault assignment Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab. O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
Applying
  1. Continuous improvement practice — regularly reviews industry publications, release notes, and technical communities to integrate emerging best practices into ongoing programming work Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab. O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
  2. Complexity embrace — actively seeks assignments involving unfamiliar system complexity rather than defaulting to familiar solution patterns Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
  3. Constructive criticism modeling — publicly incorporates challenging peer feedback into code improvements, demonstrating for the team that critical input accelerates quality Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
Exceeding
  1. Learning ecosystem creation — builds team structures such as study groups, internal tech talks, and shared learning libraries that institutionalize continuous growth across the programming team Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
  2. Failure culture leadership — leads public post-mortems of major programming failures that frame the event as a team learning opportunity, shifting organizational culture toward psychological safety Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
  3. Mastery pursuit modeling — demonstrates through sustained behavior across years that professional mastery in programming requires continuous deliberate practice and openness to obsolescence of prior knowledge Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
9Mindfulness11 statements
Emerging
  1. Attention management — applies focused concentration techniques during complex coding sessions to minimize errors introduced by distraction or task-switching Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
  2. Requirement rereading — pauses before beginning implementation to reread program specifications carefully rather than coding from an incomplete first impression Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab. O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
Developing
  1. Intentional testing — conducts trial runs of programs with deliberate attention to edge case behavior rather than confirming only the expected happy-path output Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab. O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
  2. Stress awareness — recognizes when deadline pressure is degrading code quality and applies deliberate pacing strategies to maintain accuracy during high-pressure delivery periods Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
  3. Cognitive reset practice — uses structured breaks between complex debugging sessions to clear working memory and approach recurring problems with fresh analytical perspective Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
Applying
  1. Mindful code review — reads others' code with full present-moment attention, suspending assumptions about what the code should do in order to perceive what it actually does Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
  2. Emotion regulation in incidents — maintains calm, methodical problem-solving behavior during production outages or critical defect escalations rather than reacting with urgency-driven shortcuts Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
  3. Intentional communication — pauses before responding to ambiguous or conflicting requirements to formulate a precise, considered response rather than reacting with incomplete understanding Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab. O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
Exceeding
  1. Team attention culture — models and promotes mindful work practices within the team, reducing multitasking norms that increase defect rates during complex programming tasks Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
  2. Incident mindfulness leadership — leads the team through high-severity production incidents with composed, step-by-step diagnostic discipline that prevents escalation through reactive decision-making Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab. O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
  3. Reflective practice institutionalization — establishes regular team reflection rituals such as retrospectives and code meditation sessions that build collective present-moment awareness in development work Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
10Fortitude11 statements
Emerging
  1. Bug persistence — continues working through a difficult program error across multiple failed attempts rather than escalating prematurely or abandoning the investigation Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab. O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
  2. Ambiguity tolerance — begins coding work on partially specified requirements rather than waiting for perfect clarity, making reasonable assumptions and documenting them explicitly Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
Developing
  1. Legacy code resilience — perseveres through the challenge of understanding, modifying, and improving poorly documented legacy codebases without losing motivation or accuracy Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab. O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
  2. Deadline endurance — maintains code quality standards under sustained deadline pressure rather than allowing time constraints to produce careless or unreviewed submissions Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
  3. Repeated failure navigation — continues systematic testing and revision of a program that fails multiple successive test runs, maintaining analytical rigor through repeated setbacks Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab. O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
Applying
  1. Production incident endurance — sustains high-quality diagnostic and repair work during extended production outages that require hours of continuous focused problem-solving under organizational pressure Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab. O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
  2. Technical debt courage — advocates for and executes major refactoring or rewrite projects that require sustained effort and organizational resistance due to short-term disruption costs Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab. O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
  3. Uncertain technology navigation — delivers functional programs in domains where standards, tools, or requirements are actively evolving, maintaining progress without waiting for stability Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
Exceeding
  1. Organizational resilience leadership — guides the programming team through major system failures, urgent rewrites, or radical technology migrations, sustaining team morale and output quality under extreme adversity Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab. O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
  2. Long-horizon perseverance — drives multi-year program modernization or system transformation initiatives to completion through sustained leadership despite organizational obstacles, resource constraints, and shifting priorities Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
  3. Courage in technical dissent — publicly advocates for technically sound but organizationally unpopular positions on architecture, security, or code quality when the evidence supports the position Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.
Sources:Pathsmith Durable SkillsPathsmith Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
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Source anchors that ground each statement

Related titles
.NET Programmer · Analyst Programmer · Application Programmer · Application Programmer Analyst · Applications Programmer · Automation Programmer · Beta Tester · Bug Bounty Hunter · Business Programmer · Certified Ethical Hacker · Client Server Programmer · Cloud Engineer
RAPIDS apprenticeships
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O*NET skills
ProgrammingActive ListeningCritical ThinkingComplex Problem SolvingQuality Control AnalysisSystems AnalysisReading ComprehensionJudgment and Decision MakingWritingSpeakingOperations AnalysisSystems EvaluationTime ManagementMathematicsActive LearningSocial PerceptivenessMonitoringCoordination
Knowledge domains
Computers and ElectronicsMathematicsEngineering and TechnologyEnglish LanguageCustomer and Personal ServiceAdministration and Management
Abilities
Written ComprehensionNear VisionOral ComprehensionDeductive ReasoningInductive ReasoningProblem SensitivityInformation OrderingOral ExpressionSpeech RecognitionWritten Expression
Work styles
Attention to DetailDependabilityIntellectual CuriosityInnovationCautiousnessAchievement Orientation
Technology
Development environment softwareObject or component oriented development softwareDocument management softwareWeb platform development softwareWeb page creation and editing softwareGraphics or photo imaging softwareData base management system softwareData base user interface and query softwareStorage networking softwareCloud-based management software
Tasks · seed anchors for statements
  1. Write, analyze, review, and rewrite programs, using workflow chart and diagram, and applying knowledge of computer capabilities, subject matter, and symbolic logic.
  2. Correct errors by making appropriate changes and rechecking the program to ensure that the desired results are produced.
  3. Perform or direct revision, repair, or expansion of existing programs to increase operating efficiency or adapt to new requirements.
  4. Write, update, and maintain computer programs or software packages to handle specific jobs such as tracking inventory, storing or retrieving data, or controlling other equipment.
  5. Consult with managerial, engineering, and technical personnel to clarify program intent, identify problems, and suggest changes.
  6. Conduct trial runs of programs and software applications to be sure they will produce the desired information and that the instructions are correct.
  7. Prepare detailed workflow charts and diagrams that describe input, output, and logical operation, and convert them into a series of instructions coded in a computer language.
  8. Compile and write documentation of program development and subsequent revisions, inserting comments in the coded instructions so others can understand the program.
CIP education codes
11.020111.020211.020311.020411.020511.029911.070111.080311.080411.090215.120430.300130.710130.710330.719951.070952.1201

Sources: O*NET v30.2 (CC BY 4.0), SkillsCrosswalk.com, LER.me, Anthropic Economic Index, SAFI (Jadhav & Danve, 2026), WEF Skills Taxonomy 2021, Pathsmith Durable Skills Framework. © 2026 EBSCOed.