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Project manager, lead developer vs software developer

The differences between project managers, lead developer 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 project manager, lead developer and a software developer. Additionally, a project manager, lead developer has an average salary of $106,238, which is higher than the $87,521 average annual salary of a software developer.

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

Project manager, lead developer vs software developer overview

Project Manager, Lead DeveloperSoftware Developer
Yearly salary$106,238$87,521
Hourly rate$51.08$42.08
Growth rate21%21%
Number of jobs312,680294,329
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 68%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Average age3939
Years of experience44

Project manager, lead developer vs software developer salary

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

Project Manager, Lead DeveloperSoftware Developer
Average salary$106,238$87,521
Salary rangeBetween $79,000 And $141,000Between $67,000 And $113,000
Highest paying CitySeattle, WASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaCalifornia
Best paying companyRobert HalfThe Citadel
Best paying industryInternetFinance

Differences between project manager, lead developer and software developer education

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

Project Manager, Lead DeveloperSoftware Developer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 68%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Most common majorComputer ScienceComputer Science
Most common collegeStanford UniversityHarvard University

Project manager, lead developer vs software developer demographics

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

Project Manager, Lead DeveloperSoftware Developer
Average age3939
Gender ratioMale, 80.5% Female, 19.5%Male, 79.3% Female, 20.7%
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, 4.5% 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 project manager, lead developer and software 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.
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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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Project manager, lead developer vs software developer skills

Common project manager, lead developer skills
  • Software Development, 8%
  • Java, 7%
  • JavaScript, 6%
  • Scrum, 6%
  • Application Development, 5%
  • Web Application, 5%
Common software developer skills
  • Java, 11%
  • Python, 9%
  • C++, 7%
  • Software Development, 6%
  • JavaScript, 5%
  • Database, 5%

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