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The differences between senior product developers and software 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 product developer and a software developer. Additionally, a senior product developer has an average salary of $114,125, which is higher than the $87,521 average annual salary of a software developer.
The top three skills for a senior product developer include product development, java and AWS. The most important skills for a software developer are java, python, and C++.
| Senior Product Developer | Software Developer | |
| Yearly salary | $114,125 | $87,521 |
| Hourly rate | $54.87 | $42.08 |
| Growth rate | 21% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 212,955 | 294,329 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A senior product developer leads product development activities to deliver quality products. In this role, they are in charge of delivering assigned project portfolios within the development plan through liaison with external and internal stakeholders. Their responsibilities include ensuring effective management of budgets, tracking of product development activities within the projects assigned to the team, promoting technical guidance to the production team in ensuring appropriate level support, managing specific product development activities across the supply chain, and integrating and promoting a positive working environment for the development team.
A software developer is responsible for designing application systems to support the user and business' needs. Duties of a software developer include testing software codes, performing diagnostic programs and troubleshooting, interpreting system data and establishing efficient parameters, and ensuring the compatibility of the systems. A software developer must have an excellent knowledge of computer programs and programming languages to understand its complexities, especially on detecting system defects and malfunctions. A software developer must have strong attention to detail, communication, and decision-making skills to coordinate with the team and also work independently under minimal supervision.
Senior product developers and software developers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Product Developer | Software Developer | |
| Average salary | $114,125 | $87,521 |
| Salary range | Between $87,000 And $148,000 | Between $67,000 And $113,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Hotel Tonight, Inc. | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Finance |
There are a few differences between a senior product developer and a software developer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Product Developer | Software Developer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between senior product developers' and software developers' demographics:
| Senior Product Developer | Software Developer | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 57.2% Female, 42.8% | Male, 79.3% Female, 20.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.6% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 8.4% Asian, 29.8% White, 52.2% 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% |