Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between application development directors and chief technology officers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-8 years to become an application development director, becoming a chief technology officer takes usually requires More than 10 years. Additionally, a chief technology officer has an average salary of $172,989, which is higher than the $151,898 average annual salary of an application development director.
The top three skills for an application development director include application development, architecture and java. The most important skills for a chief technology officer are infrastructure, cloud, and architecture.
| Application Development Director | Chief Technology Officer | |
| Yearly salary | $151,898 | $172,989 |
| Hourly rate | $73.03 | $83.17 |
| Growth rate | 16% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 100,053 | 124,289 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Average age | 47 | 52 |
| Years of experience | 8 | - |
The applications development director focuses on ensuring the smooth and productive development process of strategies and applications used in a company. The development director manages a team of developers who will improve, upgrade, and, if needed, replace existing systems and applications currently used in the company. The development director's role is essential for continuing the company's productivity, which is why this position is only open for people with relevant experience in application development and managerial skills. A development director's added tasks are to work with all related departments in the company, collate their application needs, and integrate those inputs to come up with an application that resolves all company problems.
The job of chief technology officers (CTOs) is to oversee the technological needs and research and development of an organization. The CTOs, who are like chief information officers, make decisions for a company's technology infrastructure that aligns with the organization's business goals. They must ensure that they are updated on new and existing technologies for them to guide the company's future endeavors. Other responsibilities include fixing issues related to information technology, developing and managing the company's technological resources, and participating in management decisions on corporate governance.
Application development directors and chief technology officers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Application Development Director | Chief Technology Officer | |
| Average salary | $151,898 | $172,989 |
| Salary range | Between $116,000 And $198,000 | Between $105,000 And $284,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | ServiceNow | InPhonex |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Telecommunication |
There are a few differences between an application development director and a chief technology officer in terms of educational background:
| Application Development Director | Chief Technology Officer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Carnegie Mellon University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between application development directors' and chief technology officers' demographics:
| Application Development Director | Chief Technology Officer | |
| Average age | 47 | 52 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 84.0% Female, 16.0% | Male, 91.6% Female, 8.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.7% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 10.0% Asian, 13.4% White, 64.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 7.7% White, 76.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 12% |