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The differences between senior software engineer managers and software engineers-consultant 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 engineer-consultant. Additionally, a senior software engineer manager has an average salary of $147,474, which is higher than the $113,987 average annual salary of a software engineer-consultant.
The top three skills for a senior software engineer manager include java, emerging technologies and software development. The most important skills for a software engineer-consultant are java, python, and architecture.
| Senior Software Engineer Manager | Software Engineer-Consultant | |
| Yearly salary | $147,474 | $113,987 |
| Hourly rate | $70.90 | $54.80 |
| Growth rate | 21% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 299,566 | 317,033 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| 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 engineer consultant develops and recommends strategies to optimize a company's software engineering operations. Their responsibilities revolve around conducting extensive research and analysis to find new opportunities, performing software evaluations and risk assessments, identifying the strengths and weaknesses of existing processes, and developing solutions against problem areas. Through the findings of their research, a software engineer consultant draws conclusions and recommendations that will help the company to reach their short and long-term goals and resolve issues or concerns.
Senior software engineer managers and software engineers-consultant have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Software Engineer Manager | Software Engineer-Consultant | |
| Average salary | $147,474 | $113,987 |
| Salary range | Between $106,000 And $205,000 | Between $85,000 And $152,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Bruno, CA | Foster City, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Advent Software | |
| Best paying industry | - | Insurance |
There are a few differences between a senior software engineer manager and a software engineer-consultant in terms of educational background:
| Senior Software Engineer Manager | Software Engineer-Consultant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| 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 engineers-consultant' demographics:
| Senior Software Engineer Manager | Software Engineer-Consultant | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 86.1% Female, 13.9% | Male, 86.1% Female, 13.9% |
| 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, 4.7% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 8.4% Asian, 29.7% White, 52.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |