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Architect vs senior architect

The differences between architects and senior architects can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an architect and a senior architect. Additionally, a senior architect has an average salary of $91,624, which is higher than the $86,635 average annual salary of an architect.

The top three skills for an architect include cloud, java and infrastructure. The most important skills for a senior architect are cloud, java, and infrastructure.

Architect vs senior architect overview

ArchitectSenior Architect
Yearly salary$86,635$91,624
Hourly rate$41.65$44.05
Growth rate3%3%
Number of jobs94,621103,428
Job satisfaction3-
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Average age4545
Years of experience44

What does an architect do?

Architects are licensed professionals who specialize in art and science of design, building constructions, and structures. They play a vital role in the construction and not only responsible for the appearance but also the safety of users. They ensure that every structure is functional, safe, cost-effective, and suit the needs of the future occupants. They closely monitor the working progress to make sure that the project is built according to plan. Some architects are focused mainly on creating designs while some are exclusive in the production of building plans or "blueprints".

What does a senior architect do?

A Senior Architect performs design drafting and evaluates architectural or engineering plans regarding building construction or improvement projects. They review building plans and site design for aesthetics, environmental acceptability, and compliance with quality standards.

Architect vs senior architect salary

Architects and senior architects have different pay scales, as shown below.

ArchitectSenior Architect
Average salary$86,635$91,624
Salary rangeBetween $54,000 And $137,000Between $58,000 And $143,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CAWashington, DC
Highest paying stateAlaskaHawaii
Best paying companyMetaRopes & Gray
Best paying industryTechnology-

Differences between architect and senior architect education

There are a few differences between an architect and a senior architect in terms of educational background:

ArchitectSenior Architect
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Most common majorArchitectureComputer Science
Most common collegeCornell UniversityCornell University

Architect vs senior architect demographics

Here are the differences between architects' and senior architects' demographics:

ArchitectSenior Architect
Average age4545
Gender ratioMale, 76.7% Female, 23.3%Male, 89.0% Female, 11.0%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 2.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 11.8% Asian, 16.0% White, 65.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%Black or African American, 2.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 11.9% Asian, 16.1% White, 65.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage15%15%

Differences between architect and senior architect duties and responsibilities

Architect example responsibilities.

  • Manage Daimler resources for development of RFC programs
  • Manage overall testing activities withing the group including functinal, system and regression testing.
  • Manage the company website using HTML and CSS to produce an easily read website that customers can access more intuitively.
  • Manage GitLab and Jenkins deployment environment to support automate AWS- development software builds.
  • Lead re-architecture and implementation of cloud solution for enterprise auto-backup of individual computing devices.
  • Provide insight and manage all technology relate aspects with presentations and communications at Sr. management and CxO level.
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Senior architect example responsibilities.

  • Manage software integration using middle-ware and other enterprise software such as CTI systems, workforce management systems, and ERP systems.
  • Develop several custom Java and Perl systems used to manage operations of critical systems.
  • Manage the development infrastructure, change control, configuration items and application security utilizing knowledge of information resource management.
  • Coordinate project management, solutions configuration, integration capabilities, and cloud computing functionality.
  • Design end to end CI/CD pipeline using Jenkins.
  • Develop apex triggers, classes and visualforce pages.
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Architect vs senior architect skills

Common architect skills
  • Cloud, 10%
  • Java, 8%
  • Infrastructure, 7%
  • Azure, 5%
  • AWS, 5%
  • Digital Transformation, 5%
Common senior architect skills
  • Cloud, 8%
  • Java, 6%
  • Infrastructure, 5%
  • Emerging Technologies, 5%
  • AWS, 5%
  • Digital Transformation, 5%

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