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Lead software architect vs software developer

The differences between lead software architects and software 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 lead software architect and a software developer. Additionally, a lead software architect has an average salary of $123,577, which is higher than the $87,521 average annual salary of a software developer.

The top three skills for a lead software architect include java, C++ and software development. The most important skills for a software developer are java, python, and C++.

Lead software architect vs software developer overview

Lead Software ArchitectSoftware Developer
Yearly salary$123,577$87,521
Hourly rate$59.41$42.08
Growth rate21%21%
Number of jobs307,926294,329
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 66%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Average age3939
Years of experience44

Lead software architect vs software developer salary

Lead software architects and software developers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Lead Software ArchitectSoftware Developer
Average salary$123,577$87,521
Salary rangeBetween $89,000 And $170,000Between $67,000 And $113,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaCalifornia
Best paying companyThe Walt Disney CompanyThe Citadel
Best paying industryRetailFinance

Differences between lead software architect and software developer education

There are a few differences between a lead software architect and a software developer in terms of educational background:

Lead Software ArchitectSoftware Developer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 66%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Most common majorComputer ScienceComputer Science
Most common collegeMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyHarvard University

Lead software architect vs software developer demographics

Here are the differences between lead software architects' and software developers' demographics:

Lead Software ArchitectSoftware Developer
Average age3939
Gender ratioMale, 95.6% Female, 4.4%Male, 79.3% Female, 20.7%
Race ratioBlack 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%Black or African American, 4.5% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.2% Asian, 29.9% White, 52.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage8%8%

Differences between lead software architect and software developer duties and responsibilities

Lead software architect example responsibilities.

  • Manage technical infrastructure including but not limit to AWS images and instances, deployment procedures and tools, and monitoring.
  • Participate in the creation and review of UI and coding standards while leading code reviews.
  • Practice agile, scrum methodology with short release cycles.
  • Design and develop windows form in VB.NET for share brokers.
  • Embed Linux development and customization of kernel for system control of burst messaging.
  • Provide overall technical direction and standards for the scrum teams working on the project.
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Software developer example responsibilities.

  • Restructure the project code in repository and use maven to manage project dependencies.
  • Used JIRA to manage and track the issues report by QA and prioritize and take action base on the severity.
  • Develop the front-end web page by using HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript, taking advantage of the frameworks Angular.JS.
  • Lead team and develop UNIX administrative and maintenance development tasks, supporting customer requirements.
  • Configure custom PL/SQL database to manage new database objects including triggers, user-define functions and store procedures.
  • Implement a centralize configuration system for managing application settings, consisting of a desktop application with a WCF backend.
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Lead software architect vs software developer skills

Common lead software architect skills
  • Java, 9%
  • C++, 8%
  • Software Development, 7%
  • Windows, 6%
  • Linux, 6%
  • OS, 4%
Common software developer skills
  • Java, 11%
  • Python, 9%
  • C++, 7%
  • Software Development, 6%
  • JavaScript, 5%
  • Database, 5%

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