Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between lead development engineers and software development managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a lead development engineer, becoming a software development manager takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a software development manager has an average salary of $134,747, which is higher than the $114,658 average annual salary of a lead development engineer.
The top three skills for a lead development engineer include java, python and API. The most important skills for a software development manager are java, AWS, and architecture.
| Lead Development Engineer | Software Development Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $114,658 | $134,747 |
| Hourly rate | $55.12 | $64.78 |
| Growth rate | 21% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 357,390 | 265,464 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Average age | 39 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 6 |
Lead development engineers and software development managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Lead Development Engineer | Software Development Manager | |
| Average salary | $114,658 | $134,747 |
| Salary range | Between $88,000 And $148,000 | Between $100,000 And $180,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Netflix | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a lead development engineer and a software development manager in terms of educational background:
| Lead Development Engineer | Software Development Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Georgia Institute of Technology | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between lead development engineers' and software development managers' demographics:
| Lead Development Engineer | Software Development Manager | |
| Average age | 39 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 87.2% Female, 12.8% | Male, 85.1% Female, 14.9% |
| 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, 6.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 12.0% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 11% |