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The differences between associate software engineers and software engineers-consultant can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an associate software engineer and a software engineer-consultant. Additionally, a software engineer-consultant has an average salary of $113,987, which is higher than the $78,981 average annual salary of an associate software engineer.
The top three skills for an associate software engineer include java, python and C++. The most important skills for a software engineer-consultant are java, python, and architecture.
| Associate Software Engineer | Software Engineer-Consultant | |
| Yearly salary | $78,981 | $113,987 |
| Hourly rate | $37.97 | $54.80 |
| Growth rate | 21% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 298,481 | 317,033 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
An associate software engineer is an individual who is responsible for improving existing software or designing new application software. Working under the supervision of a senior software engineer and together with a team of engineering professionals, associate software engineers must be able to code software and ensure that it can run with different types of technology. They must have the technical knowledge and expertise of commanding programming languages such as JAVA, HTML, and CSS. Associate software engineers are also required to assist the QA team in testing the software before it is released to the customers.
A software engineer consultant develops and recommends strategies to optimize a company's software engineering operations. Their responsibilities revolve around conducting extensive research and analysis to find new opportunities, performing software evaluations and risk assessments, identifying the strengths and weaknesses of existing processes, and developing solutions against problem areas. Through the findings of their research, a software engineer consultant draws conclusions and recommendations that will help the company to reach their short and long-term goals and resolve issues or concerns.
Associate software engineers and software engineers-consultant have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Associate Software Engineer | Software Engineer-Consultant | |
| Average salary | $78,981 | $113,987 |
| Salary range | Between $60,000 And $102,000 | Between $85,000 And $152,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Foster City, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | California |
| Best paying company | JPMorgan Chase & Co. | Advent Software |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Insurance |
There are a few differences between an associate software engineer and a software engineer-consultant in terms of educational background:
| Associate Software Engineer | Software Engineer-Consultant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between associate software engineers' and software engineers-consultant' demographics:
| Associate Software Engineer | Software Engineer-Consultant | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 67.3% Female, 32.7% | Male, 86.1% Female, 13.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.0% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 7.7% Asian, 39.6% White, 43.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 4.7% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 8.4% Asian, 29.7% White, 52.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |