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The differences between senior information technology developers and contract 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 information technology developer and a contract developer. Additionally, a senior information technology developer has an average salary of $108,906, which is higher than the $91,433 average annual salary of a contract developer.
The top three skills for a senior information technology developer include java, software development and spring boot. The most important skills for a contract developer are C++, javascript, and java.
| Senior Information Technology Developer | Contract Developer | |
| Yearly salary | $108,906 | $91,433 |
| Hourly rate | $52.36 | $43.96 |
| Growth rate | 21% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 334,136 | 249,808 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
Senior information technology (IT) developers are IT management professionals who are responsible for writing code and contribute to the design and implementation of software programs. These developers must collaborate with department managers to plan the layout and set up custom department sites while compiling departmental information. They must nurture a team of talented professionals to further accelerate application development, support maintenance, and product evolution. Senior IT developers must also use web services to implement automation of the business process and reduce redundancy.
Contract Developers develop secure web applications for data collections, quality measurement efforts, and reporting purposes for large-scale performance, wireframes and UI specifications for interactive and static reporting and analysis features, and developing UI to interact with reporting engines. They are involved with system design and technical documentation and responsible for dot net development. In this position, contract developers must excellent in problem-solving, analytical skills and attention to detail, display and manipulate performance metrics, and highly confident dealing with internal and external clients.
Senior information technology developers and contract developers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Information Technology Developer | Contract Developer | |
| Average salary | $108,906 | $91,433 |
| Salary range | Between $84,000 And $140,000 | Between $67,000 And $123,000 |
| Highest paying City | Palo Alto, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Zendesk | Avanade |
| Best paying industry | Energy | Finance |
There are a few differences between a senior information technology developer and a contract developer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Information Technology Developer | Contract Developer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between senior information technology developers' and contract developers' demographics:
| Senior Information Technology Developer | Contract Developer | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 81.8% Female, 18.2% | Male, 71.5% Female, 28.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.6% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.4% Asian, 29.8% White, 52.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 4.4% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.1% Asian, 27.8% White, 54.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |