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The differences between chief architects and software architects can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a chief architect has an average salary of $168,836, which is higher than the $114,406 average annual salary of a software architect.
The top three skills for a chief architect include cloud, infrastructure and digital transformation. The most important skills for a software architect are java, architecture, and cloud.
| Chief Architect | Software Architect | |
| Yearly salary | $168,836 | $114,406 |
| Hourly rate | $81.17 | $55.00 |
| Growth rate | 21% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 98,518 | 319,594 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 44 | 39 |
| Years of experience | - | 4 |
Chief architects are C-level executives in information technology (IT) who look at IT functions that may be centralized for seamless collaboration. They are also called enterprise architects who design and manage the software release team base on the scrum/agile development methodologies. Their job involves systems analysis, and they project plan in transitioning the Internet operation of MCI to wireless and cable platforms. Also, they offer a disaster recovery solution for a virtual or physical server to a data center in the cloud.
A Software Architect develops new programs for a variety of technological devices for businesses, computer games, mobile networks, and/or operating systems. They ensure architectural integrity and consistency across the entire product and work closely with executives to explain the benefits of the software.
Chief architects and software architects have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Chief Architect | Software Architect | |
| Average salary | $168,836 | $114,406 |
| Salary range | Between $111,000 And $255,000 | Between $82,000 And $158,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | Zscaler | Aspiration |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a chief architect and a software architect in terms of educational background:
| Chief Architect | Software Architect | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between chief architects' and software architects' demographics:
| Chief Architect | Software Architect | |
| Average age | 44 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 92.7% Female, 7.3% | Male, 93.8% Female, 6.2% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.1% Asian, 30.0% White, 52.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 8% |