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The differences between consultants-application development 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 a consultant-application development and a software engineer-consultant. Additionally, a software engineer-consultant has an average salary of $113,987, which is higher than the $111,633 average annual salary of a consultant-application development.
The top three skills for a consultant-application development include java, application development and architecture. The most important skills for a software engineer-consultant are java, python, and architecture.
| Consultant-Application Development | Software Engineer-Consultant | |
| Yearly salary | $111,633 | $113,987 |
| Hourly rate | $53.67 | $54.80 |
| Growth rate | 21% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 282,808 | 317,033 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
Application development consultants write software systems designed for specific tasks. To work in this position, they must have expertise in programming and information technology and strong interpersonal skills to be an effective mentor to junior app developers. Before working on a project, they familiarize themselves with their company's computer system to make working on different processes easier. Since no program is ever made perfect, these consultants anticipate possible issues that users may encounter and create solutions for them.
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.
Consultants-application development and software engineers-consultant have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Consultant-Application Development | Software Engineer-Consultant | |
| Average salary | $111,633 | $113,987 |
| Salary range | Between $88,000 And $141,000 | Between $85,000 And $152,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Foster City, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | CME Group | Advent Software |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Insurance |
There are a few differences between a consultant-application development and a software engineer-consultant in terms of educational background:
| Consultant-Application Development | Software Engineer-Consultant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between consultants-application development' and software engineers-consultant' demographics:
| Consultant-Application Development | Software Engineer-Consultant | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 78.7% Female, 21.3% | Male, 86.1% Female, 13.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.6% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.4% Asian, 29.8% White, 52.2% 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% |