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The differences between release managers and release engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a release manager, becoming a release engineer takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a release manager has an average salary of $109,886, which is higher than the $97,777 average annual salary of a release engineer.
The top three skills for a release manager include release management, project management and software development. The most important skills for a release engineer are GIT, python, and jenkins.
| Release Manager | Release Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $109,886 | $97,777 |
| Hourly rate | $52.83 | $47.01 |
| Growth rate | 21% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 38,547 | 257,869 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 70% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Average age | 44 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 4 |
A release manager is responsible for supervising project releases across various platforms by closely coordinating with technology and project teams, ensuring the stability and efficiency of outputs according to clients' specifications and business needs. Release managers handle the delivery management procedures from conceptualization to production, maintaining budget requirements and adherence to timetables. They also perform quality check processes to identify possible defects and inconsistencies with the deliverables and adjusting initial project plans as needed.
Release engineers are skilled professionals who ensure that all hardware and software components are correctly working together through the use of their knowledge in coding and programming languages. To make sure that products are configured and implemented successfully, these engineers are required to work with production members, software engineers, and quality assurance (QA) professionals. They must assess the quality and risk of the new products as well as troubleshoot any issues pertaining to the software's performance. Release engineers must also organize a release schedule for a software product by using data analysis and production progress reports.
Release managers and release engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Release Manager | Release Engineer | |
| Average salary | $109,886 | $97,777 |
| Salary range | Between $81,000 And $147,000 | Between $73,000 And $130,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Technology |
There are a few differences between a release manager and a release engineer in terms of educational background:
| Release Manager | Release Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 70% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between release managers' and release engineers' demographics:
| Release Manager | Release Engineer | |
| Average age | 44 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 61.4% Female, 38.6% | Male, 79.4% Female, 20.6% |
| 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, 4.7% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 8.4% Asian, 29.7% White, 52.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 8% |