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The differences between directors, applications and chief technology officers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-8 years to become a director, applications, becoming a chief technology officer takes usually requires More than 10 years. Additionally, a chief technology officer has an average salary of $172,989, which is higher than the $155,871 average annual salary of a director, applications.
The top three skills for a director, applications include cloud, project management and customer service. The most important skills for a chief technology officer are infrastructure, cloud, and architecture.
| Director, Applications | Chief Technology Officer | |
| Yearly salary | $155,871 | $172,989 |
| Hourly rate | $74.94 | $83.17 |
| Growth rate | 16% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 75,822 | 124,289 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Average age | 47 | 52 |
| Years of experience | 8 | - |
An application director is responsible for designing and reviewing software applications to support business requirements and network solutions. Applications directors strategize efficient techniques in developing systems, assist the design teams, and conduct quality checks to the outputs to ensure its accuracy and adherence to guidelines and project procedures. They review applications request, manage and allocate budget and resources, and determine the timetable of deliverables. An application director must have excellent technical skills to support the team in resolving application discrepancy and analyzing technology standards.
The job of chief technology officers (CTOs) is to oversee the technological needs and research and development of an organization. The CTOs, who are like chief information officers, make decisions for a company's technology infrastructure that aligns with the organization's business goals. They must ensure that they are updated on new and existing technologies for them to guide the company's future endeavors. Other responsibilities include fixing issues related to information technology, developing and managing the company's technological resources, and participating in management decisions on corporate governance.
Directors, applications and chief technology officers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Director, Applications | Chief Technology Officer | |
| Average salary | $155,871 | $172,989 |
| Salary range | Between $120,000 And $200,000 | Between $105,000 And $284,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | California | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Okta | InPhonex |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Telecommunication |
There are a few differences between a director, applications and a chief technology officer in terms of educational background:
| Director, Applications | Chief Technology Officer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Most common major | Business | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Carnegie Mellon University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between directors, applications' and chief technology officers' demographics:
| Director, Applications | Chief Technology Officer | |
| Average age | 47 | 52 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 77.6% Female, 22.4% | Male, 91.6% Female, 8.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.7% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 10.0% Asian, 12.7% White, 65.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 7.7% White, 76.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 12% |