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The differences between performance engineers and software 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 performance engineer and a software engineer. Additionally, a performance engineer has an average salary of $101,647, which is higher than the $100,260 average annual salary of a software engineer.
The top three skills for a performance engineer include java, linux and performance issues. The most important skills for a software engineer are java, python, and software development.
| Performance Engineer | Software Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $101,647 | $100,260 |
| Hourly rate | $48.87 | $48.20 |
| Growth rate | 11% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 95,652 | 339,938 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 3.5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Average age | 44 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A Performance Engineer validates system stability and its performance by carrying out load tests. They analyze test outcomes and work diligently with different engineers and developers to deliver excellent bug fix results. These professionals improve system capacity, scalability, reliability, and performance by offering technical assistance. Besides undertaking root cause evaluation of the system's performance problems and giving corrective actions, a performance engineer also recommends system improvements after evaluating the system performance. Also, they oversee the performance lifecycle and then recommend the right improvements.
A software engineer is a computer science professional who is responsible for the development of information systems, designing and building computer systems software and applications software. They often prefer to call themselves as a software developer or computer programmer. They have substantial knowledge of programming languages, software development, and computer operating systems, and other technologies. They use these to turn a plan into a final output. They can create a design, test, and develop software based on the needs of their clients.
Performance engineers and software engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Performance Engineer | Software Engineer | |
| Average salary | $101,647 | $100,260 |
| Salary range | Between $76,000 And $134,000 | Between $73,000 And $136,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Bruno, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Start-up | Start-up |
There are a few differences between a performance engineer and a software engineer in terms of educational background:
| Performance Engineer | Software Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Georgia Institute of Technology | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between performance engineers' and software engineers' demographics:
| Performance Engineer | Software Engineer | |
| Average age | 44 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 83.4% Female, 16.6% | Male, 78.0% Female, 22.0% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 4.4% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.1% Asian, 34.0% White, 48.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 8% |