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The differences between developer/consultants and contract 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 developer/consultant and a contract developer. Additionally, a developer/consultant has an average salary of $98,508, which is higher than the $91,433 average annual salary of a contract developer.
The top three skills for a developer/consultant include java, project management and javascript. The most important skills for a contract developer are C++, javascript, and java.
| Developer/Consultant | Contract Developer | |
| Yearly salary | $98,508 | $91,433 |
| Hourly rate | $47.36 | $43.96 |
| Growth rate | 21% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 257,985 | 249,808 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A developer/consultant is responsible for developing system databases and applications, depending on the business' needs and clients' specifications. Developers/consultants design their services to manage optimal performance and maximize productivity for timely submission of projects, ensuring client satisfaction and loyalty. They also handle clients' inquiries and concerns, informing them about necessary adjustments to improve strategic procedures and processes. A developer/consultant must have excellent communication and analytical skills, as well as extensive experience with the technology industry.
Contract Developers develop secure web applications for data collections, quality measurement efforts, and reporting purposes for large-scale performance, wireframes and UI specifications for interactive and static reporting and analysis features, and developing UI to interact with reporting engines. They are involved with system design and technical documentation and responsible for dot net development. In this position, contract developers must excellent in problem-solving, analytical skills and attention to detail, display and manipulate performance metrics, and highly confident dealing with internal and external clients.
Developer/consultants and contract developers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Developer/Consultant | Contract Developer | |
| Average salary | $98,508 | $91,433 |
| Salary range | Between $71,000 And $135,000 | Between $67,000 And $123,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | California |
| Best paying company | Microsoft | Avanade |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Finance |
There are a few differences between a developer/consultant and a contract developer in terms of educational background:
| Developer/Consultant | Contract Developer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Business | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between developer/consultants' and contract developers' demographics:
| Developer/Consultant | Contract Developer | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 58.5% Female, 41.5% | Male, 71.5% Female, 28.5% |
| 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, 4.4% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.1% Asian, 27.8% White, 54.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |