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The differences between senior systems architects and systems developers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a senior systems architect has an average salary of $113,858, which is higher than the $97,230 average annual salary of a systems developer.
The top three skills for a senior systems architect include java, scrum and cloud. The most important skills for a systems developer are java, python, and C++.
| Senior Systems Architect | Systems Developer | |
| Yearly salary | $113,858 | $97,230 |
| Hourly rate | $54.74 | $46.75 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 143,269 | 322,419 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 44 | 43 |
| Years of experience | - | 6 |
It is the job of a senior systems architect to develop, enforce, and maintain servers under the goals of an organization. Senior systems architects assess the requirements of businesses and customers, design documents, and develop architectural approaches. The architects establish and interpret structural designs and serve as managers, advisors, and mentors. They take responsibility for providing technical advice for software development. Typically, they work onsite and in offices to ensure team cohesion and successful projects.
A Systems Developer is responsible for designing and creating software applications and server programs to support business requirements and client specifications. System Developers run multiple diagnostic tests to the systems to ensure performance and stability and revise scripts for optimization as needed. They also evaluate and improve existing networks, develop infrastructure, and set configuration. A Systems Developer must have excellent communication and technical skills, as well as a strong command of programming languages and system codes to identify network structures and operating systems.
Senior systems architects and systems developers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Systems Architect | Systems Developer | |
| Average salary | $113,858 | $97,230 |
| Salary range | Between $83,000 And $155,000 | Between $73,000 And $129,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld | |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Hospitality |
There are a few differences between a senior systems architect and a systems developer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Systems Architect | Systems Developer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between senior systems architects' and systems developers' demographics:
| Senior Systems Architect | Systems Developer | |
| Average age | 44 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 91.3% Female, 8.7% | Male, 76.5% Female, 23.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 12.0% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.9% Asian, 16.6% White, 57.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 8% |