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The differences between software engineers-consultant 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 software engineer-consultant and a software design engineer. Additionally, a software engineer-consultant has an average salary of $113,987, which is higher than the $98,799 average annual salary of a software design engineer.
The top three skills for a software engineer-consultant include java, python and architecture. The most important skills for a software design engineer are software development, python, and software design.
| Software Engineer-Consultant | Software Design Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $113,987 | $98,799 |
| Hourly rate | $54.80 | $47.50 |
| Growth rate | 21% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 317,033 | 315,080 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
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.
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.
Software engineers-consultant and software design engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Software Engineer-Consultant | Software Design Engineer | |
| Average salary | $113,987 | $98,799 |
| Salary range | Between $85,000 And $152,000 | Between $74,000 And $130,000 |
| Highest paying City | Foster City, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Advent Software | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Insurance | Technology |
There are a few differences between a software engineer-consultant and a software design engineer in terms of educational background:
| Software Engineer-Consultant | Software Design Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Harvard University | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between software engineers-consultant' and software design engineers' demographics:
| Software Engineer-Consultant | Software Design Engineer | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 86.1% Female, 13.9% | Male, 81.6% Female, 18.4% |
| Race ratio | 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% | 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% |