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The differences between production support engineers and software engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a production support engineer, becoming a software engineer takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a software engineer has an average salary of $100,260, which is higher than the $78,599 average annual salary of a production support engineer.
The top three skills for a production support engineer include java, infrastructure and linux. The most important skills for a software engineer are java, python, and software development.
| Production Support Engineer | Software Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $78,599 | $100,260 |
| Hourly rate | $37.79 | $48.20 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 194,203 | 339,938 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 3.5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Average age | 43 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 4 |
Product support engineers are in charge of managing the technical requests ordered by the customer. Their primary role is to repair and resolve errors, constantly register details for later reports, and update customers with the improvements. They help other engineers by enhancing processes and assisting in product development. Also, they provide recommendations for feature improvements and efficiency enhancement based on the customers' preference. These specialists are critical and analytical thinkers as well as technical experts. They are able to communicate well to customers while doing multiple tasks and pay attention to detail to track errors and record them.
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.
Production support engineers and software engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Production Support Engineer | Software Engineer | |
| Average salary | $78,599 | $100,260 |
| Salary range | Between $57,000 And $107,000 | Between $73,000 And $136,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | San Bruno, CA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | California |
| Best paying company | Salesforce | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Start-up |
There are a few differences between a production support engineer and a software engineer in terms of educational background:
| Production Support Engineer | Software Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between production support engineers' and software engineers' demographics:
| Production Support Engineer | Software Engineer | |
| Average age | 43 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 85.1% Female, 14.9% | Male, 78.0% Female, 22.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.7% Asian, 13.8% White, 61.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | 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 | 9% | 8% |