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The differences between engineering programmers and applications programmers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-8 years to become both an engineering programmer and an applications programmer. Additionally, an engineering programmer has an average salary of $95,776, which is higher than the $85,133 average annual salary of an applications programmer.
The top three skills for an engineering programmer include C++, troubleshoot and PC. The most important skills for an applications programmer are java, C++, and database.
| Engineering Programmer | Applications Programmer | |
| Yearly salary | $95,776 | $85,133 |
| Hourly rate | $46.05 | $40.93 |
| Growth rate | -7% | -7% |
| Number of jobs | 245,309 | 215,240 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 8 | 8 |
Running programs on a computer is tough to understand, so an engineering programmer's expertise is needed. They often work alongside software programmers to improve their works, apply their creations and run them on the computer. They assist computer programmers in creating a software program to locate, store, secure, and retrieve data and design software solutions for future computer difficulties. In a company, they can be part of the team that handles customer complaints online and run software to work with it, or they can provide software that oversees staffs' work ethics.
An application programmer is responsible for creating and designing computer systems and applications according to client specifications and business requirements. Application programmers run quality checks on the draft outputs to ensure its stability and efficiency for high-level performance. They also evaluate existing applications and recommend technical solutions to improve scalability. An application programmer must have excellent technical skills with a strong command of programming languages and system codes to determine the feasibility of applications and adjust features as needed.
Engineering programmers and applications programmers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Engineering Programmer | Applications Programmer | |
| Average salary | $95,776 | $85,133 |
| Salary range | Between $66,000 And $138,000 | Between $64,000 And $112,000 |
| Highest paying City | Novato, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Washington |
| Best paying company | Meta | Dropbox |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Finance |
There are a few differences between an engineering programmer and an applications programmer in terms of educational background:
| Engineering Programmer | Applications Programmer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between engineering programmers' and applications programmers' demographics:
| Engineering Programmer | Applications Programmer | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 83.2% Female, 16.8% | Male, 74.6% Female, 25.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 5.1% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 9.0% Asian, 14.9% White, 66.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 4.9% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.6% Asian, 16.4% White, 65.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |