Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between software engineering interns 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 software engineering internship and a software engineer-consultant. Additionally, a software engineer-consultant has an average salary of $113,987, which is higher than the $47,164 average annual salary of a software engineering internship.
The top three skills for a software engineering internship include java, python and object oriented programming. The most important skills for a software engineer-consultant are java, python, and architecture.
| Software Engineering Internship | Software Engineer-Consultant | |
| Yearly salary | $47,164 | $113,987 |
| Hourly rate | $22.68 | $54.80 |
| Growth rate | 21% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 301,105 | 317,033 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A software engineer intern is responsible for assisting the technology department's operations, using their class knowledge on performing practical applications. Software engineer interns support software engineers on their processes, shadowing their daily tasks, and performing duties under mentors' supervision. They assess ideas, contribute to the development of new applications, and research current technology trends to help with product innovations. A software engineer intern must have excellent knowledge of the technology systems industry, programming languages, and learn efficiently through observations.
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.
Software engineering interns and software engineers-consultant have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Software Engineering Internship | Software Engineer-Consultant | |
| Average salary | $47,164 | $113,987 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $73,000 | Between $85,000 And $152,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Foster City, CA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | Advent Software |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Insurance |
There are a few differences between a software engineering internship and a software engineer-consultant in terms of educational background:
| Software Engineering Internship | Software Engineer-Consultant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Harvard University | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between software engineering interns' and software engineers-consultant' demographics:
| Software Engineering Internship | Software Engineer-Consultant | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 76.0% Female, 24.0% | Male, 86.1% Female, 13.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.1% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 7.7% Asian, 42.6% White, 40.7% 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% |