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The differences between application leads and lead developers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become an application lead, becoming a lead developer takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a lead developer has an average salary of $116,340, which is higher than the $112,992 average annual salary of an application lead.
The top three skills for an application lead include java, architecture and emerging technologies. The most important skills for a lead developer are java, javascript, and architecture.
| Application Lead | Lead Developer | |
| Yearly salary | $112,992 | $116,340 |
| Hourly rate | $54.32 | $55.93 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 163,233 | 274,208 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 43 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 4 |
A lead applications developer is in charge of directing the development department in applications design, creation, coding, debugging, and testing. Lead applications developers serve as mentors for lower-level or new software programmers or developers. They supervise the development team members in pair programming, code reviews, and good development principle promotions. Their duties include the coordination of the schedule of development staff. Also, they ensure effective communication between the team members and the other IT functions.
A lead developer is responsible for creating software programs and applications, following the client and the business's software quality standards and design specifications. Lead developers assist a team of developers in implementing strategic procedures, managing system codes, debugging applications, running diagnostic tests, and troubleshooting defects to ensure its smooth performance. They also respond to clients' inquiries and concerns, performing feature adjustments as needed. A lead developer must have strong knowledge of the technology industry and command on programming languages and software design processes.
Application leads and lead developers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Application Lead | Lead Developer | |
| Average salary | $112,992 | $116,340 |
| Salary range | Between $86,000 And $147,000 | Between $83,000 And $161,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Oregon | California |
| Best paying company | Mayo Clinic | |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Retail |
There are a few differences between an application lead and a lead developer in terms of educational background:
| Application Lead | Lead Developer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between application leads' and lead developers' demographics:
| Application Lead | Lead Developer | |
| Average age | 43 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 73.7% Female, 26.3% | Male, 76.4% Female, 23.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.5% Asian, 22.6% White, 52.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 4.5% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.2% Asian, 29.9% White, 52.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |