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Career Spotlights

Dynamics 365 Developer

Career Spotlights

How much do Dynamics 365 Developers make?

How much do Dynamics 365 Developers make?

United States ($)

Junior (0-3 years) Mid-level (4-8 years) Senior (9+ years) Freelance (Hourly Rate)
Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations 113,750 159,750 177,000 91-173
Dynamics 365 Sales and Marketing 121,500 147,250 183,250 107-143
Dynamics 365 Business Central 95,750 121,750 150,500 100-153

United Kingdom (£)

Junior (0-3 years) Mid-level (4-8 years) Senior (9+ years) Freelance (Daily Rate)
Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations 46,750 61,500 78,250 500-780
Dynamics 365 Sales and Marketing 44,250 59,250 80,000 650-780
Dynamics 365 Business Central 44,250 60,750 72,250 590-700
* Survey responses in the remainder of this chapter are indicative only due to a limited number of D365 Developers participating in the survey.

United States ($)

Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations
113,750
Dynamics 365 Sales and Marketing
121,500
Dynamics 365 Business Central
95,750
Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations
159,750
Dynamics 365 Sales and Marketing
147,250
Dynamics 365 Business Central
121,750
Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations
177,000
Dynamics 365 Sales and Marketing
183,250
Dynamics 365 Business Central
150,500
Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations
91-173
Dynamics 365 Sales and Marketing
107-143
Dynamics 365 Business Central
100-153

United Kingdom (£)

Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations
46,750
Dynamics 365 Sales and Marketing
44,250
Dynamics 365 Business Central
44,250
Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations
61,500
Dynamics 365 Sales and Marketing
59,250
Dynamics 365 Business Central
60,750
Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations
78,250
Dynamics 365 Sales and Marketing
80,000
Dynamics 365 Business Central
75,250
Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations
500-780
Dynamics 365 Sales and Marketing
650-780
Dynamics 365 Business Central
590-700
* Survey responses in the remainder of this chapter are indicative only due to a limited number of D365 Developers participating in the survey.

60%

of D365 Developers are satisfied with their job, down from 63% in our previous study

70%

of D365 Developers are satisfied with their salary, up from 51% in our last survey

42 hours

Permanent D365 Developers work an average of 42 hours per week

43 hours

Freelance D365 Developers work an average of 43 hours per week

What factors impact your earning potential as a Dynamics 365 Developer?

We asked current Dynamics professionals to rank what factors are most important in upping your earning potential in that role.
Important Neutral Unimportant
Years of technical experience with Microsoft products 100% 0% 0%
Years of experience in IT 92% 5% 3%
Exposure to large projects 89% 11% 0%
Specific vertical industry experience 59% 38% 3%
Microsoft certifications 32% 32% 35%
College/University degree(s) 27% 27% 46%
Important Neutral Unimportant
100% 0% 0%
Important Neutral Unimportant
92% 5% 3%
Important Neutral Unimportant
89% 11% 0%
Important Neutral Unimportant
59% 38% 3%
Important Neutral Unimportant
32% 32% 35%
Important Neutral Unimportant
27% 27% 46%

What steps should you take to become a Dynamics 365 Developer?

Education

Over four-fifths (81%) of Dynamics 365 Developers hold a Bachelor’s degree or higher. However, only 31% consider a degree to be important to work with Microsoft Business Applications. Similarly, having a degree ranked as the least important from a list of factors when it comes to increasing earning potential.

What Microsoft certifications do Dynamics 365 Developers hold?

Microsoft Certified: Dynamics 365: Finance and Operations Apps Developer Associate 27%
Microsoft Certified: Dynamics 365 Fundamentals (ERP) 23%
Microsoft Certified: Dynamics 365 Business Central Functional Consultant Associate 18%
Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Developer Associate, Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals 14%
Microsoft Certified: Dynamics 365 Fundamentals (CRM), Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Functional Consultant Associate 9%

Certification

Less than two-thirds (59%, which matches the percentage in our last survey) of Dynamics 365 Developers are certified, and 42% of those have undergone certification renewal to maintain their Microsoft Certified status. Meanwhile, 59% (down from 66%) believe that certifications make a candidate a more valuable professional.

Microsoft currently offers one mid-level certification tailored specifically for Dynamics 365 Developers. The Microsoft Certified: Dynamics 365: Finance and Operations Apps Developer Associate is ideal if you’re looking for a certification that focuses more on the ERP side of Dynamics 365.

If you’re looking to build broader skills that encompass Power Platform too, you can opt for Power Platform Developer Associate, Power Automate RPA Developer Associate, or the Power Platform App Maker Associate. Once certified at an intermediate level, you can further develop your Power Platform know-how by tackling the most advanced developer certification available—Power Platform Solution Architect Expert.

Roles that can lead on to becoming a Dynamics 365 Developer

As with many other tech roles these days, there’s no predetermined path that is guaranteed to lead you to a role as a Dynamics 365 Developer. However, these are a few of the most common job roles that we see these professionals starting their careers in:

What skills and experience should Dynamics 365 Developers have?

Dynamics 365 development: Programming languages you need to know

Learning programming languages will be at the top of your to-do list if you have a career as a Dynamics 365 Developer in mind. Given there are many languages you can master, the Dynamics 365 product you’ll be using the most will determine which language you should prioritize. This is due to the three core Dynamics 365 apps running on different languages and codebases—as a result of them previously being a much more disparate set of products. The languages used by the three main Dynamics 365 apps are:
Dynamics 365 Business Central uses AL
Dynamics 365 Finance uses X++
Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement uses C# (it’s also possible to use .NET)

AL

Dynamics 365 Business Central uses AL (application language) to perform complex computations, connect to external webservices, and manipulate data. AL has a set of predefined functions to help make programming quicker and easier, including event triggers and function riggers. Although, you can still write your own custom functions.

X++

X++ is an object-oriented, application- and data-aware language, and has several features in common with C# and Java. Created by Microsoft, it’s frequently used in ERP programming and database applications such as Dynamics 365 Finance. Using X++, developers can build SQL-like constructs to select and manipulate data within the app.

C#

Officially released over a decade ago, C# is another programming language developed by Microsoft itself. This is a straightforward, object-oriented language, and shares many features with the likes of C, C++, Java, and JavaScript, making it familiar and accessible to many developers. This language is mostly used in the development of desktop and web apps, and runs on Microsoft’s .NET Framework. C# is a widely used language for building enterprise software and boasts a bustling open-source community.

What are the opportunities for progression?

Are you looking to hire a Microsoft Dynamics professional?

Want the highlights from this year's Careers and Hiring Guide at a glance? Our key findings report contains our top level insight and salary tables, so you can compare your own salary or benchmark your teams' across the Microsoft ecosystem.