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Firmware developer vs developer

The differences between firmware developers and developers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a firmware developer, becoming a developer takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a developer has an average salary of $100,076, which is higher than the $87,481 average annual salary of a firmware developer.

The top three skills for a firmware developer include python, java and software development. The most important skills for a developer are javascript, python, and java.

Firmware developer vs developer overview

Firmware DeveloperDeveloper
Yearly salary$87,481$100,076
Hourly rate$42.06$48.11
Growth rate21%21%
Number of jobs78,552262,570
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 72%Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Average age3939
Years of experience24

What does a firmware developer do?

A firmware developer mainly develops firmware and designs hardware for online supervision systems and protocol converters. Firmware developers lead workflow resolution and automate the process by routing information to queues for flexible management of exceptions. They create test programs based on technology for maximum processor and firmware processor and memory. It is their job to implement features such as one-touch power windows, audio tones, and wipers. They also create client configuration, statistics, control, and general management functions.

What does a developer do?

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.

Firmware developer vs developer salary

Firmware developers and developers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Firmware DeveloperDeveloper
Average salary$87,481$100,076
Salary rangeBetween $65,000 And $117,000Between $76,000 And $131,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CA-
Highest paying stateCaliforniaWashington
Best paying companyParsons-
Best paying industryInternetFinance

Differences between firmware developer and developer education

There are a few differences between a firmware developer and a developer in terms of educational background:

Firmware DeveloperDeveloper
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 72%Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Most common majorElectrical EngineeringComputer Science
Most common collegeHarvard UniversityMassachusetts Institute of Technology

Firmware developer vs developer demographics

Here are the differences between firmware developers' and developers' demographics:

Firmware DeveloperDeveloper
Average age3939
Gender ratioMale, 93.5% Female, 6.5%Male, 74.9% Female, 25.1%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 4.5% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.3% Asian, 29.8% White, 52.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%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%
LGBT Percentage8%8%

Differences between firmware developer and developer duties and responsibilities

Firmware developer example responsibilities.

  • Analyze and manage the project throughout SDLC, written/review specification documents.
  • Develop SRAM/FRAM SPI interface for use in network communication.
  • Write an application in VC++ which facilitates API testing.
  • Board support package for ARM9 processors, board bring up and debugging.
  • Develop a boot loader enabling firmware updates via I2C / SMBus interface.
  • Develop UART driver for cost saving initiative to implement RS232 hardware in FPGA.
  • Show more

Developer example responsibilities.

  • Manage continuous integration, configure the servers using Jenkins.
  • Analyze and manage the project throughout SDLC, written/review specification documents.
  • Configure and manage JGroup multicasting communication for apache tomcat web servers.
  • Upgrade internal loan and prospect tracking system to be more responsive and utilizing the latest in CSS & HTML.
  • Implement this application, using object-orient Perl to dynamically generate HTML with embed JavaScript, interacting with back-end databases via DBI/DBD.
  • Integrate content feeds via JSON, XML, and RSS from both internal and external sources into web content management components.
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Firmware developer vs developer skills

Common firmware developer skills
  • Python, 12%
  • Java, 9%
  • Software Development, 7%
  • C, 7%
  • C++, 7%
  • Linux, 6%
Common developer skills
  • JavaScript, 7%
  • Python, 6%
  • Java, 6%
  • C++, 5%
  • API, 4%
  • CSS, 4%

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