Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between software leaders 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 leader and a software engineer-consultant. Additionally, a software leader has an average salary of $124,694, which is higher than the $113,987 average annual salary of a software engineer-consultant.
The top three skills for a software leader include java, python and cloud. The most important skills for a software engineer-consultant are java, python, and architecture.
| Software Leader | Software Engineer-Consultant | |
| Yearly salary | $124,694 | $113,987 |
| Hourly rate | $59.95 | $54.80 |
| Growth rate | 21% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 267,920 | 317,033 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A Software Leader takes responsibility for the execution of his/her /her team and the quality of the team's performance. Software Leaders ensure the cadence of their team's production process. As coaches, leaders mentor and teach the people within the team. They extend help when their team needs it to remove any possible hindrance. Also, they serve as team ambassadors or representatives.
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 leaders and software engineers-consultant have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Software Leader | Software Engineer-Consultant | |
| Average salary | $124,694 | $113,987 |
| Salary range | Between $93,000 And $166,000 | Between $85,000 And $152,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Foster City, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | Advent Software |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Insurance |
There are a few differences between a software leader and a software engineer-consultant in terms of educational background:
| Software Leader | Software Engineer-Consultant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between software leaders' and software engineers-consultant' demographics:
| Software Leader | Software Engineer-Consultant | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 83.2% Female, 16.8% | Male, 86.1% Female, 13.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.5% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.3% Asian, 29.9% White, 52.4% 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% |