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The differences between devops engineers and software engineers lead can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a devops engineer and a software engineer lead. Additionally, a software engineer lead has an average salary of $125,565, which is higher than the $104,019 average annual salary of a devops engineer.
The top three skills for a devops engineer include python, docker and java. The most important skills for a software engineer lead are java, python, and software development.
| Devops Engineer | Software Engineer Lead | |
| Yearly salary | $104,019 | $125,565 |
| Hourly rate | $50.01 | $60.37 |
| Growth rate | 21% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 257,025 | 342,462 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
DevOps engineers are practitioners of DevOps, a software development strategy that aims to bridge the gap between computer software development and information technology (IT) operations. They work closely with computer software developers and other IT staff to manage code deployments and releases. Their duties include overseeing the IT infrastructure supporting software code in different environments, choosing a suitable deployment model, and directing testing protocol needed to validate releases. Other tasks they may likely perform include preparing test data, analyzing results, and troubleshooting issues and problems.
A Software Engineer Lead is focused on developing and testing software programs. They manage a team of software engineers that design enterprise software products and operating systems.
Devops engineers and software engineers lead have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Devops Engineer | Software Engineer Lead | |
| Average salary | $104,019 | $125,565 |
| Salary range | Between $80,000 And $135,000 | Between $93,000 And $168,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | California | Washington |
| Best paying company | The Citadel | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Start-up | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a devops engineer and a software engineer lead in terms of educational background:
| Devops Engineer | Software Engineer Lead | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between devops engineers' and software engineers lead' demographics:
| Devops Engineer | Software Engineer Lead | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 86.2% Female, 13.8% | Male, 86.7% Female, 13.3% |
| 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, 4.5% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.3% Asian, 29.9% White, 52.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |