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The differences between senior applications engineers and software 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 senior applications engineer, becoming a software engineer takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a senior applications engineer has an average salary of $107,989, which is higher than the $100,260 average annual salary of a software engineer.
The top three skills for a senior applications engineer include java, C++ and database. The most important skills for a software engineer are java, python, and software development.
| Senior Applications Engineer | Software Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $107,989 | $100,260 |
| Hourly rate | $51.92 | $48.20 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 274,466 | 339,938 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 3.5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Average age | 41 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 4 |
A senior applications engineer specializes in designing and developing a variety of applications and systems, ensuring quality and efficiency. Their responsibilities typically revolve around utilizing feedback and client needs when making decisions, creating test structures for applications, performing installment and repairs, troubleshooting, and performing regular maintenance checks and upgrades. Furthermore, as a senior applications engineer, it is essential to lead and encourage the engineering team to reach goals, all while implementing 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.
Senior applications engineers and software engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Applications Engineer | Software Engineer | |
| Average salary | $107,989 | $100,260 |
| Salary range | Between $84,000 And $138,000 | Between $73,000 And $136,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Bruno, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Netflix | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Insurance | Start-up |
There are a few differences between a senior applications engineer and a software engineer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Applications Engineer | Software Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between senior applications engineers' and software engineers' demographics:
| Senior Applications Engineer | Software Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 88.9% Female, 11.1% | Male, 78.0% Female, 22.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 17.1% White, 67.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | 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 | 5% | 8% |