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The differences between requirements engineers and lead 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 requirements engineer and a lead developer. Additionally, a lead developer has an average salary of $116,340, which is higher than the $87,170 average annual salary of a requirements engineer.
The top three skills for a requirements engineer include java, software development and powerpoint. The most important skills for a lead developer are java, javascript, and architecture.
| Requirements Engineer | Lead Developer | |
| Yearly salary | $87,170 | $116,340 |
| Hourly rate | $41.91 | $55.93 |
| Growth rate | 21% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 166,444 | 274,208 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
Requirements engineers are responsible for the analysis, documentation, coordination, and management of requirements regarding new software projects. They identify and understand the customer's project-specific demands and document them in a clear and binding way. Their duties and responsibilities also include preparing well-written and detailed documentation of the project and ensuring the project is designed and built within the legal parameters.
A lead developer is responsible for creating software programs and applications, following the client and the business's software quality standards and design specifications. Lead developers assist a team of developers in implementing strategic procedures, managing system codes, debugging applications, running diagnostic tests, and troubleshooting defects to ensure its smooth performance. They also respond to clients' inquiries and concerns, performing feature adjustments as needed. A lead developer must have strong knowledge of the technology industry and command on programming languages and software design processes.
Requirements engineers and lead developers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Requirements Engineer | Lead Developer | |
| Average salary | $87,170 | $116,340 |
| Salary range | Between $62,000 And $120,000 | Between $83,000 And $161,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | The Citadel | Mayo Clinic |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Retail |
There are a few differences between a requirements engineer and a lead developer in terms of educational background:
| Requirements Engineer | Lead Developer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between requirements engineers' and lead developers' demographics:
| Requirements Engineer | Lead Developer | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 64.5% Female, 35.5% | Male, 76.4% Female, 23.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.6% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.3% Asian, 29.8% White, 52.3% 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 Percentage | 8% | 8% |