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The differences between senior software engineer managers and software architects 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 engineer manager and a software architect. Additionally, a senior software engineer manager has an average salary of $147,474, which is higher than the $114,406 average annual salary of a software architect.
The top three skills for a senior software engineer manager include java, emerging technologies and software development. The most important skills for a software architect are java, architecture, and cloud.
| Senior Software Engineer Manager | Software Architect | |
| Yearly salary | $147,474 | $114,406 |
| Hourly rate | $70.90 | $55.00 |
| Growth rate | 21% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 299,566 | 319,594 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A Senior Software Engineer Manager oversees software development and helps manage the team to accomplish milestones on a specific project. The Senior Software Engineer Manager's task is to guide, instruct, and junior train developers and ensure efficiency and quality. The senior developer also checks every detail of the software, order adjustments in problematic areas of the program, and does troubleshooting during finalization. The Senior Developer is the primary contact person in the software development team and advises the company on the proper path to take when planning a new software.
A Software Architect develops new programs for a variety of technological devices for businesses, computer games, mobile networks, and/or operating systems. They ensure architectural integrity and consistency across the entire product and work closely with executives to explain the benefits of the software.
Senior software engineer managers and software architects have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Software Engineer Manager | Software Architect | |
| Average salary | $147,474 | $114,406 |
| Salary range | Between $106,000 And $205,000 | Between $82,000 And $158,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Bruno, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Aspiration | |
| Best paying industry | - | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a senior software engineer manager and a software architect in terms of educational background:
| Senior Software Engineer Manager | Software Architect | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between senior software engineer managers' and software architects' demographics:
| Senior Software Engineer Manager | Software Architect | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 86.1% Female, 13.9% | Male, 93.8% Female, 6.2% |
| 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, 4.3% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.1% Asian, 30.0% White, 52.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |