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The differences between application development directors and software development managers 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 software development manager takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, an application development director has an average salary of $151,898, which is higher than the $134,747 average annual salary of a software development manager.
The top three skills for an application development director include application development, architecture and java. The most important skills for a software development manager are java, AWS, and architecture.
| Application Development Director | Software Development Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $151,898 | $134,747 |
| Hourly rate | $73.03 | $64.78 |
| Growth rate | 16% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 100,053 | 265,464 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Average age | 47 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 8 | 6 |
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.
A software development manager is an individual who manages teams of software developers that design and create software applications and web services for clients. Software development managers should delegate duties and establish development standards for the development team as well as create a budget and timeline for the project. They must meet with management to discuss how software applications can achieve business objectives. Once the software has been developed, software development managers must train technical and non-technical end-users. They must also be skilled in different programming languages such as HTML, SQL, and JavaScript.
Application development directors and software development managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Application Development Director | Software Development Manager | |
| Average salary | $151,898 | $134,747 |
| Salary range | Between $116,000 And $198,000 | Between $100,000 And $180,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Alaska |
| Best paying company | ServiceNow | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Technology |
There are a few differences between an application development director and a software development manager in terms of educational background:
| Application Development Director | Software Development Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Carnegie Mellon University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between application development directors' and software development managers' demographics:
| Application Development Director | Software Development Manager | |
| Average age | 47 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 84.0% Female, 16.0% | Male, 85.1% Female, 14.9% |
| 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, 6.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 12.0% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |