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The differences between junior software engineers and software engineers-consultant 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 software engineer and a software engineer-consultant. Additionally, a software engineer-consultant has an average salary of $113,987, which is higher than the $77,904 average annual salary of a junior software engineer.
The top three skills for a junior software engineer include java, C++ and python. The most important skills for a software engineer-consultant are java, python, and architecture.
| Junior Software Engineer | Software Engineer-Consultant | |
| Yearly salary | $77,904 | $113,987 |
| Hourly rate | $37.45 | $54.80 |
| Growth rate | 21% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 288,448 | 317,033 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 77% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
The role of junior software engineers is to aid and support with software design and computer coding. As a software developer, you are expected to attend and contribute to company meetings, learn the codebase and improve your coding skills, and monitor the technical performance of systems. Other duties include responding to the development team's requests, preparing reports, and performing development tests. Most employers prefer to hire someone with a bachelor's degree in computer science, in-depth knowledge of coding languages such as JavaScript and HTML5, and previous work experience.
A software engineer consultant develops and recommends strategies to optimize a company's software engineering operations. Their responsibilities revolve around conducting extensive research and analysis to find new opportunities, performing software evaluations and risk assessments, identifying the strengths and weaknesses of existing processes, and developing solutions against problem areas. Through the findings of their research, a software engineer consultant draws conclusions and recommendations that will help the company to reach their short and long-term goals and resolve issues or concerns.
Junior software engineers and software engineers-consultant have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Junior Software Engineer | Software Engineer-Consultant | |
| Average salary | $77,904 | $113,987 |
| Salary range | Between $59,000 And $101,000 | Between $85,000 And $152,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Foster City, CA |
| Highest paying state | Connecticut | California |
| Best paying company | Apple | Advent Software |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Insurance |
There are a few differences between a junior software engineer and a software engineer-consultant in terms of educational background:
| Junior Software Engineer | Software Engineer-Consultant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 77% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Harvard University | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between junior software engineers' and software engineers-consultant' demographics:
| Junior Software Engineer | Software Engineer-Consultant | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 74.6% Female, 25.4% | Male, 86.1% Female, 13.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.6% 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, 4.7% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 8.4% Asian, 29.7% White, 52.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |