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The differences between lead programmers and applications programmers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-8 years to become both a lead programmer and an applications programmer. Additionally, a lead programmer has an average salary of $118,938, which is higher than the $85,133 average annual salary of an applications programmer.
The top three skills for a lead programmer include java, javascript and python. The most important skills for an applications programmer are java, C++, and database.
| Lead Programmer | Applications Programmer | |
| Yearly salary | $118,938 | $85,133 |
| Hourly rate | $57.18 | $40.93 |
| Growth rate | -7% | -7% |
| Number of jobs | 197,084 | 215,240 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 8 | 8 |
Lead programmers and applications programmers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Lead Programmer | Applications Programmer | |
| Average salary | $118,938 | $85,133 |
| Salary range | Between $87,000 And $161,000 | Between $64,000 And $112,000 |
| Highest paying City | Bellevue, WA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Washington |
| Best paying company | Merrill Lynch | Dropbox |
| Best paying industry | Pharmaceutical | Finance |
There are a few differences between a lead programmer and an applications programmer in terms of educational background:
| Lead Programmer | Applications Programmer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between lead programmers' and applications programmers' demographics:
| Lead Programmer | Applications Programmer | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 88.3% Female, 11.7% | Male, 74.6% Female, 25.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 5.1% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 9.1% Asian, 14.9% White, 66.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 4.9% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.6% Asian, 16.4% White, 65.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |