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The differences between junior developers and applications developers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a junior developer and an applications developer. Additionally, an applications developer has an average salary of $89,205, which is higher than the $75,006 average annual salary of a junior developer.
The top three skills for a junior developer include java, C++ and javascript. The most important skills for an applications developer are java, javascript, and C++.
| Junior Developer | Applications Developer | |
| Yearly salary | $75,006 | $89,205 |
| Hourly rate | $36.06 | $42.89 |
| Growth rate | 21% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 259,820 | 279,877 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A junior developer is an individual with an entry-level position that is hired by an information technology (IT) company to work with its development team to write and maintain code for computer applications. Being an entry-level position, junior developers are required to learn the codebase and gain experience from working on large projects. They attend and participate in meetings conducted by the development team to discuss issues with other developers. Junior developers must also participate in paired programming with mid-level and senior developers.
An application developer is responsible for creating program applications for devices based on clients' specifications and business needs. Application developers must have excellent knowledge of computer systems, as well as a strong command of programming languages to develop customized programs. Duties of an application developer also include running diagnostic tests to ensure the application's performance and stability, providing instruction manuals for reference, performing troubleshooting for any inconsistencies, upgrading design codes for optimization, and launching the application following the client's timetable.
Junior developers and applications developers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Junior Developer | Applications Developer | |
| Average salary | $75,006 | $89,205 |
| Salary range | Between $56,000 And $99,000 | Between $67,000 And $118,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Washington |
| Best paying company | Atlassian | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Finance |
There are a few differences between a junior developer and an applications developer in terms of educational background:
| Junior Developer | Applications Developer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Harvard University | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between junior developers' and applications developers' demographics:
| Junior Developer | Applications Developer | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 75.9% Female, 24.1% | Male, 77.0% Female, 23.0% |
| 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, 4.4% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.2% Asian, 29.9% White, 52.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |