Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between production supports 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, 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 $49,480 average annual salary of a production support.
The top three skills for a production support include java, unix and troubleshoot. The most important skills for a software engineer are java, python, and software development.
| Production Support | Software Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $49,480 | $100,260 |
| Hourly rate | $23.79 | $48.20 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 117,902 | 339,938 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 3.5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Average age | 42 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 4 |
Production support is in charge of communicating with clients, assisting them with their needs to ensure client satisfaction. Their role is to identify the needs of clients, coordinate with staff, perform research and analysis, prepare and process documents, and address issues and concerns, resolving them promptly and efficiently. There are also instances where they must provide assistance to production staff in manufacturing operations and conceptualizations. Furthermore, as production support, it is essential to function while adhering to the company's policies and regulations.
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 supports and software engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Production Support | Software Engineer | |
| Average salary | $49,480 | $100,260 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $92,000 | Between $73,000 And $136,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | San Bruno, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | California |
| Best paying company | Bloomberg | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | - | Start-up |
There are a few differences between a production support and a software engineer in terms of educational background:
| Production Support | Software Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Most common major | Business | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between production supports' and software engineers' demographics:
| Production Support | Software Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 64.8% Female, 35.2% | Male, 78.0% Female, 22.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.8% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 16.0% White, 54.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | 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% |