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The differences between senior database developers 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 senior database developer and a lead developer. Additionally, a lead developer has an average salary of $116,340, which is higher than the $108,559 average annual salary of a senior database developer.
The top three skills for a senior database developer include ETL, database development and java. The most important skills for a lead developer are java, javascript, and architecture.
| Senior Database Developer | Lead Developer | |
| Yearly salary | $108,559 | $116,340 |
| Hourly rate | $52.19 | $55.93 |
| Growth rate | 21% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 87,912 | 274,208 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
Senior database developers are responsible for supporting various business intelligence and performing data evaluation activities to seize data requirements distinctly, accurately, and completely. They collaborate with a wide range of customers, including senior-level executives and reporting developers. Also, they often perform in the early stages of the software lifecycle to outline data and to design the theoretical, logical, and physical data model blueprint with suitable structure and relationships for maximum performance. Additionally, they work in a rapid environment that creates, executes, and maintains mission analytical information systems for the data warehouse community, ensuring the long-term reliability, flexibility, and sustainability of the systems.
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.
Senior database developers and lead developers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Database Developer | Lead Developer | |
| Average salary | $108,559 | $116,340 |
| Salary range | Between $85,000 And $137,000 | Between $83,000 And $161,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | The Citadel | Mayo Clinic |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Retail |
There are a few differences between a senior database developer and a lead developer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Database Developer | Lead Developer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between senior database developers' and lead developers' demographics:
| Senior Database Developer | Lead Developer | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 79.3% Female, 20.7% | Male, 76.4% Female, 23.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.4% 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 Percentage | 8% | 8% |