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The differences between developers and designers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a developer, becoming a designer takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a developer has an average salary of $100,076, which is higher than the $66,347 average annual salary of a designer.
The top three skills for a developer include javascript, python and java. The most important skills for a designer are sketch, customer service, and graphic design.
| Developer | Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $100,076 | $66,347 |
| Hourly rate | $48.11 | $31.90 |
| Growth rate | 21% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 262,570 | 52,433 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Average age | 39 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 12 |
Developers are usually system or application developers in a company who work on specific projects related to networks or applications from conception to implementation. They attend planning sessions to ensure that the program is feasible. They are responsible for designing the system through coding and basic user interface design. They also work on troubleshooting any challenges that may be met at the testing stage of the program's development. They solve challenges and ensure that minimal problems will arise upon publishing the system or application. They also manage the evaluation to ensure that the program's goals are accomplished and that the end-users are satisfied with the results.
A designer is someone who creates a master plan of the look or workings of something before it will be made. It could be tangible or intangible objects, products, procedures, laws, events, games, graphics, services, and even experiences. Designers are creative thinkers with a great eye to configure the skeletal and structural properties of the targeted output. They work in several fields, such as fashion, architecture, web graphics, and user experience. In spite of the variety of professionals in the design industry, all of them are artistic, passionate, inspiring, and emotionally connected to their projects and brands.
Developers and designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Developer | Designer | |
| Average salary | $100,076 | $66,347 |
| Salary range | Between $76,000 And $131,000 | Between $45,000 And $97,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Washington |
| Best paying company | - | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Technology |
There are a few differences between a developer and a designer in terms of educational background:
| Developer | Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between developers' and designers' demographics:
| Developer | Designer | |
| Average age | 39 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 74.9% Female, 25.1% | Male, 56.9% Female, 43.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.6% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 8.4% Asian, 29.8% White, 52.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 10.4% White, 70.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 13% |