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The differences between senior software architects and software design 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 a software design engineer. Additionally, a senior software architect has an average salary of $129,435, which is higher than the $98,799 average annual salary of a software design engineer.
The top three skills for a senior software architect include java, python and cloud. The most important skills for a software design engineer are software development, python, and software design.
| Senior Software Architect | Software Design Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $129,435 | $98,799 |
| Hourly rate | $62.23 | $47.50 |
| Growth rate | 21% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 310,354 | 315,080 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| 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.
A software design engineer or SDE is part of a software development enterprise. Software design engineers determine the problems or issues and figure out how to establish programs to ease and automate the situations. They fabricate style sheets for the management of the individual aspects of huge engineering projects. It is their job to develop strategies for hardware architecture and software engineering. They also handle and mentor engineering interns for professional guidance.
Senior software architects and software design engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Software Architect | Software Design Engineer | |
| Average salary | $129,435 | $98,799 |
| Salary range | Between $93,000 And $178,000 | Between $74,000 And $130,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Netflix | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Internet | Technology |
There are a few differences between a senior software architect and a software design engineer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Software Architect | Software Design Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between senior software architects' and software design engineers' demographics:
| Senior Software Architect | Software Design Engineer | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 94.0% Female, 6.0% | Male, 81.6% Female, 18.4% |
| 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, 4.5% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.2% Asian, 29.9% White, 52.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |