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The differences between lead development engineers and software development engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a lead development engineer and a software development engineer. Additionally, a lead development engineer has an average salary of $114,658, which is higher than the $109,147 average annual salary of a software development engineer.
The top three skills for a lead development engineer include java, python and API. The most important skills for a software development engineer are java, software development, and AWS.
| Lead Development Engineer | Software Development Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $114,658 | $109,147 |
| Hourly rate | $55.12 | $52.47 |
| Growth rate | 21% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 357,390 | 356,971 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
Lead development engineers and software development engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Lead Development Engineer | Software Development Engineer | |
| Average salary | $114,658 | $109,147 |
| Salary range | Between $88,000 And $148,000 | Between $80,000 And $147,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Netflix | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a lead development engineer and a software development engineer in terms of educational background:
| Lead Development Engineer | Software Development Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Georgia Institute of Technology | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between lead development engineers' and software development engineers' demographics:
| Lead Development Engineer | Software Development Engineer | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 87.2% Female, 12.8% | Male, 79.6% Female, 20.4% |
| 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, 4.7% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 8.4% Asian, 32.7% White, 49.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |