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The differences between designs, development and lead developers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a design, development and a lead developer. Additionally, a lead developer has an average salary of $116,340, which is higher than the $93,226 average annual salary of a design, development.
The top three skills for a design, development include web application, javascript and CSS. The most important skills for a lead developer are java, javascript, and architecture.
| Design, Development | Lead Developer | |
| Yearly salary | $93,226 | $116,340 |
| Hourly rate | $44.82 | $55.93 |
| Growth rate | 21% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 280,910 | 274,208 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
Design development engineers are engineering professionals who are responsible for developing a detailed design and engineering document for a construction project. These engineers are required to review engineering drawings from vendors and recommend changes when necessary, as well as the bill of materials. They must assist drafters and engineering designers in developing engineering design and construction by using computer-assisted design equipment and software. Design development engineers should also participate in activities related to quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC).
A lead developer is responsible for creating software programs and applications, following the client and the business's software quality standards and design specifications. Lead developers assist a team of developers in implementing strategic procedures, managing system codes, debugging applications, running diagnostic tests, and troubleshooting defects to ensure its smooth performance. They also respond to clients' inquiries and concerns, performing feature adjustments as needed. A lead developer must have strong knowledge of the technology industry and command on programming languages and software design processes.
Designs, development and lead developers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Design, Development | Lead Developer | |
| Average salary | $93,226 | $116,340 |
| Salary range | Between $67,000 And $128,000 | Between $83,000 And $161,000 |
| Highest paying City | Urban Honolulu, HI | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | California |
| Best paying company | Apple | Mayo Clinic |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Retail |
There are a few differences between a design, development and a lead developer in terms of educational background:
| Design, Development | Lead Developer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between designs, development' and lead developers' demographics:
| Design, Development | Lead Developer | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 72.5% Female, 27.5% | Male, 76.4% Female, 23.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.5% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.2% Asian, 29.9% White, 52.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 4.5% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.2% Asian, 29.9% White, 52.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |