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Project manager, lead developer vs contract developer

The differences between project managers, lead developer and contract 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 project manager, lead developer and a contract developer. Additionally, a project manager, lead developer has an average salary of $106,238, which is higher than the $91,433 average annual salary of a contract developer.

The top three skills for a project manager, lead developer include software development, java and javascript. The most important skills for a contract developer are C++, javascript, and java.

Project manager, lead developer vs contract developer overview

Project Manager, Lead DeveloperContract Developer
Yearly salary$106,238$91,433
Hourly rate$51.08$43.96
Growth rate21%21%
Number of jobs312,680249,808
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 68%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age3939
Years of experience44

Project manager, lead developer vs contract developer salary

Project managers, lead developer and contract developers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Project Manager, Lead DeveloperContract Developer
Average salary$106,238$91,433
Salary rangeBetween $79,000 And $141,000Between $67,000 And $123,000
Highest paying CitySeattle, WASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaCalifornia
Best paying companyRobert HalfAvanade
Best paying industryInternetFinance

Differences between project manager, lead developer and contract developer education

There are a few differences between a project manager, lead developer and a contract developer in terms of educational background:

Project Manager, Lead DeveloperContract Developer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 68%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common majorComputer ScienceComputer Science
Most common collegeStanford UniversityMassachusetts Institute of Technology

Project manager, lead developer vs contract developer demographics

Here are the differences between project managers, lead developer' and contract developers' demographics:

Project Manager, Lead DeveloperContract Developer
Average age3939
Gender ratioMale, 80.5% Female, 19.5%Male, 71.5% Female, 28.5%
Race ratioBlack 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%Black or African American, 4.4% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.1% Asian, 27.8% White, 54.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage8%8%

Differences between project manager, lead developer and contract developer duties and responsibilities

Project manager, lead developer example responsibilities.

  • Configure and manage JGroup multicasting communication for apache tomcat web servers.
  • Create build and deployment process for continuous up-time java web application on Linux servers.
  • Deliver a complete JavaScript - base game with JQuery.
  • Add JavaScript menu system and ASP.net controls pulling from XML data sources.
  • Revamp multiple external websites to meet current web standards using CSS and AJAX.
  • Spear-Head the creation of a stand alone CMS using MVC model and PHP / MySQl.
  • Show more

Contract developer example responsibilities.

  • Port existing native UI to use new manage web services layer.
  • Design and develop a website using alpha source code, MySQL and HTML for creating and managing user accounts.
  • Implement a centralize configuration system for managing application settings, consisting of a desktop application with a WCF backend.
  • Support internal team on client projects updating HTML, CSS, JavaScript and PHP as necessary.
  • Utilize HTML5, simple Java-Script and advance CSS3 functionality.
  • Edit XHTML, CSS and XML templates for educational portals.
  • Show more

Project manager, lead developer vs contract developer skills

Common project manager, lead developer skills
  • Software Development, 8%
  • Java, 7%
  • JavaScript, 6%
  • Scrum, 6%
  • Application Development, 5%
  • Web Application, 5%
Common contract developer skills
  • C++, 7%
  • JavaScript, 7%
  • Java, 5%
  • Python, 4%
  • Html Css, 4%
  • CSS, 4%

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