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The differences between senior software architects and associate software engineers 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 software architect and an associate software engineer. Additionally, a senior software architect has an average salary of $129,435, which is higher than the $78,981 average annual salary of an associate software engineer.
The top three skills for a senior software architect include java, python and cloud. The most important skills for an associate software engineer are java, python, and C++.
| Senior Software Architect | Associate Software Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $129,435 | $78,981 |
| Hourly rate | $62.23 | $37.97 |
| Growth rate | 21% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 310,354 | 298,481 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 80% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A Senior Software Architect is focused on the development of new programs and software for technologically based organizations. They improve operations through conducting system analysis and recommending changes in policies and procedures.
An associate software engineer is an individual who is responsible for improving existing software or designing new application software. Working under the supervision of a senior software engineer and together with a team of engineering professionals, associate software engineers must be able to code software and ensure that it can run with different types of technology. They must have the technical knowledge and expertise of commanding programming languages such as JAVA, HTML, and CSS. Associate software engineers are also required to assist the QA team in testing the software before it is released to the customers.
Senior software architects and associate software engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Software Architect | Associate Software Engineer | |
| Average salary | $129,435 | $78,981 |
| Salary range | Between $93,000 And $178,000 | Between $60,000 And $102,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Netflix | JPMorgan Chase & Co. |
| Best paying industry | Internet | Finance |
There are a few differences between a senior software architect and an associate software engineer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Software Architect | Associate Software Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 80% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between senior software architects' and associate software engineers' demographics:
| Senior Software Architect | Associate Software Engineer | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 94.0% Female, 6.0% | Male, 67.3% Female, 32.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.5% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.2% Asian, 29.9% White, 52.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 4.0% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 7.7% Asian, 39.6% White, 43.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |