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The differences between database 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 a database engineer and a software engineer-consultant. Additionally, a software engineer-consultant has an average salary of $113,987, which is higher than the $104,648 average annual salary of a database engineer.
The top three skills for a database engineer include python, troubleshoot and java. The most important skills for a software engineer-consultant are java, python, and architecture.
| Database Engineer | Software Engineer-Consultant | |
| Yearly salary | $104,648 | $113,987 |
| Hourly rate | $50.31 | $54.80 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 152,951 | 317,033 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 70% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Average age | 46 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A database engineer is responsible for maintaining the security of an organization's network databases, preventing unauthorized access and activities, and upgrading data infrastructure. Database engineers manage the volume of stored data, ensuring that the information would not affect the traffic flow and navigation. They also design database according to business requirements and needs, conducting multiple quality checks before releasing the final outputs for high functionality. A database engineer must have excellent technical skills, as well as extensive knowledge of programming languages and database administration, to create efficient system networks.
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.
Database engineers and software engineers-consultant have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Database Engineer | Software Engineer-Consultant | |
| Average salary | $104,648 | $113,987 |
| Salary range | Between $72,000 And $150,000 | Between $85,000 And $152,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Foster City, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Airbnb | Advent Software |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Insurance |
There are a few differences between a database engineer and a software engineer-consultant in terms of educational background:
| Database Engineer | Software Engineer-Consultant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 70% | 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 database engineers' and software engineers-consultant' demographics:
| Database Engineer | Software Engineer-Consultant | |
| Average age | 46 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 78.7% Female, 21.3% | Male, 86.1% Female, 13.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.4% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 22.8% White, 55.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | 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 | 6% | 8% |