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The differences between software development managers and team leaders can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a software development manager and a team leader. Additionally, a software development manager has an average salary of $134,747, which is higher than the $68,817 average annual salary of a team leader.
The top three skills for a software development manager include java, AWS and architecture. The most important skills for a team leader are customer service, ladders, and patients.
| Software Development Manager | Team Leader | |
| Yearly salary | $134,747 | $68,817 |
| Hourly rate | $64.78 | $33.09 |
| Growth rate | 21% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 265,464 | 197,336 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| Average age | 44 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A software development manager is an individual who manages teams of software developers that design and create software applications and web services for clients. Software development managers should delegate duties and establish development standards for the development team as well as create a budget and timeline for the project. They must meet with management to discuss how software applications can achieve business objectives. Once the software has been developed, software development managers must train technical and non-technical end-users. They must also be skilled in different programming languages such as HTML, SQL, and JavaScript.
Team leaders are responsible for managing a team for a specific project or work component. They primarily guide the team members and ensure that they are still working towards the set goals. Team leaders create strategies to reach goals, cascade the goals and strategies to team members, assign tasks, conduct periodic check-ups on the roadmap towards the goals, foster an engaging work environment, motivate and coach team members, monitor team performance, evaluate the strategies and come up with mitigating plans as needed. They are also responsible for reporting the team's progress to higher management.
Software development managers and team leaders have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Software Development Manager | Team Leader | |
| Average salary | $134,747 | $68,817 |
| Salary range | Between $100,000 And $180,000 | Between $37,000 And $126,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Meta | Ropes & Gray |
| Best paying industry | Technology | - |
There are a few differences between a software development manager and a team leader in terms of educational background:
| Software Development Manager | Team Leader | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | SUNY College of Technology at Delhi |
Here are the differences between software development managers' and team leaders' demographics:
| Software Development Manager | Team Leader | |
| Average age | 44 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 85.1% Female, 14.9% | Male, 55.0% Female, 45.0% |
| 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, 8.9% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 17.0% Asian, 7.2% White, 61.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 9% |