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The differences between developers and requirements engineers 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 and a requirements engineer. Additionally, a developer has an average salary of $100,076, which is higher than the $87,170 average annual salary of a requirements engineer.
The top three skills for a developer include javascript, python and java. The most important skills for a requirements engineer are java, software development, and powerpoint.
| Developer | Requirements Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $100,076 | $87,170 |
| Hourly rate | $48.11 | $41.91 |
| Growth rate | 21% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 262,570 | 166,444 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
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.
Requirements engineers are responsible for the analysis, documentation, coordination, and management of requirements regarding new software projects. They identify and understand the customer's project-specific demands and document them in a clear and binding way. Their duties and responsibilities also include preparing well-written and detailed documentation of the project and ensuring the project is designed and built within the legal parameters.
Developers and requirements engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Developer | Requirements Engineer | |
| Average salary | $100,076 | $87,170 |
| Salary range | Between $76,000 And $131,000 | Between $62,000 And $120,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | - | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Technology |
There are a few differences between a developer and a requirements engineer in terms of educational background:
| Developer | Requirements Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between developers' and requirements engineers' demographics:
| Developer | Requirements Engineer | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 74.9% Female, 25.1% | Male, 64.5% Female, 35.5% |
| 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, 4.6% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.3% Asian, 29.8% White, 52.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |