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Engineering programmer vs development engineer

The differences between engineering programmers and development engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-8 years to become an engineering programmer, becoming a development engineer takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, an engineering programmer has an average salary of $95,776, which is higher than the $93,206 average annual salary of a development engineer.

The top three skills for an engineering programmer include C++, troubleshoot and PC. The most important skills for a development engineer are java, python, and software development.

Engineering programmer vs development engineer overview

Engineering ProgrammerDevelopment Engineer
Yearly salary$95,776$93,206
Hourly rate$46.05$44.81
Growth rate-7%2%
Number of jobs245,309224,881
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 64%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Average age4741
Years of experience86

What does an engineering programmer do?

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.

What does a development engineer do?

A Development Engineer is responsible for the development and validation of products, systems, and components. They are also responsible for quality control of work and continuous improvement of engineer activities.

Engineering programmer vs development engineer salary

Engineering programmers and development engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Engineering ProgrammerDevelopment Engineer
Average salary$95,776$93,206
Salary rangeBetween $66,000 And $138,000Between $70,000 And $122,000
Highest paying CityNovato, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaWashington
Best paying companyMetaMeta
Best paying industryTechnologyTechnology

Differences between engineering programmer and development engineer education

There are a few differences between an engineering programmer and a development engineer in terms of educational background:

Engineering ProgrammerDevelopment Engineer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 64%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Most common majorComputer ScienceMechanical Engineering
Most common collegeCalifornia State University - Long BeachMichigan Technological University

Engineering programmer vs development engineer demographics

Here are the differences between engineering programmers' and development engineers' demographics:

Engineering ProgrammerDevelopment Engineer
Average age4741
Gender ratioMale, 83.2% Female, 16.8%Male, 85.5% Female, 14.5%
Race ratioBlack 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, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 16.7% White, 67.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage11%5%

Differences between engineering programmer and development engineer duties and responsibilities

Engineering programmer example responsibilities.

  • Restructure websites using HTML and CSS.
  • Work on Java and JavaScript in implementing the interfaces.
  • Design and write C++, parallel vtk-base visualization application for studying tera-scale data.
  • Repair and upgrade PC and network of the enterprise.
  • Lead design group to migrate from Autocad to Solidworks.
  • Design touch panel interfaces for use with Crestron and AMX systems.
  • Show more

Development engineer example responsibilities.

  • Used RS.exe from command line to automate report execution, export to PDF and archive to FTP site.
  • Manage Terraform and refactore from monolithic to application specific components.
  • Develop python code on Linux kernel (raspberry pi) for battery monitoring system.
  • Migrate an existing J2EE application to MVC framework.
  • Develop LINUX device driver for new real-time clock chip support.
  • Help in modifying shell scripts to convert from IBM AIX to Linux.
  • Show more

Engineering programmer vs development engineer skills

Common engineering programmer skills
  • C++, 22%
  • Troubleshoot, 6%
  • PC, 6%
  • Java, 4%
  • Debugging, 4%
  • Architecture, 4%
Common development engineer skills
  • Java, 17%
  • Python, 9%
  • Software Development, 5%
  • JavaScript, 5%
  • Lifecycle Management, 4%
  • UI, 3%

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