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Software project leader vs software project manager

The differences between software project leaders and software project managers 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 project leader and a software project manager. Additionally, a software project manager has an average salary of $115,181, which is higher than the $109,474 average annual salary of a software project leader.

The top three skills for a software project leader include software development, project management and scrum. The most important skills for a software project manager are project management, scrum, and development process.

Software project leader vs software project manager overview

Software Project LeaderSoftware Project Manager
Yearly salary$109,474$115,181
Hourly rate$52.63$55.38
Growth rate21%21%
Number of jobs247,780285,134
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 71%Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Average age3939
Years of experience44

Software project leader vs software project manager salary

Software project leaders and software project managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Software Project LeaderSoftware Project Manager
Average salary$109,474$115,181
Salary rangeBetween $84,000 And $142,000Between $84,000 And $156,000
Highest paying CityCupertino, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaNew Jersey
Best paying companyBoston Consulting GroupMeta
Best paying industryManufacturingProfessional

Differences between software project leader and software project manager education

There are a few differences between a software project leader and a software project manager in terms of educational background:

Software Project LeaderSoftware Project Manager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 71%Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Most common majorComputer ScienceComputer Science
Most common collegeMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyStanford University

Software project leader vs software project manager demographics

Here are the differences between software project leaders' and software project managers' demographics:

Software Project LeaderSoftware Project Manager
Average age3939
Gender ratioMale, 75.1% Female, 24.9%Male, 67.2% Female, 32.8%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 4.6% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 8.4% Asian, 29.8% White, 52.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%Black or African American, 4.4% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.1% Asian, 30.0% White, 52.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage8%8%

Differences between software project leader and software project manager duties and responsibilities

Software project leader example responsibilities.

  • Lead daily scrum meetings, organize and chair scrums with cross-functional teams to deliver the product goals and deliverables.
  • Maintain mature java-base web application design to automate highly detail engineering requests for the DoD.
  • Provide guidance and support to scrum team members, remove impediments and assist teams to maximize productivity.
  • Develop excellent debugging, analytical and programming skills.
  • Create the architecture framework for dynamically setting properties and property types for oracle using reflection.
  • Design enterprise software, including requirements analysis, software architecture, user interface, and database schema.
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Software project manager example responsibilities.

  • Manage the JIRA defect log and issues.
  • Utilize CRM to manage resolution of customer issues to ensure satisfaction.
  • Lead the delivery of diagnostic GUI design and service workstation application for iGen3 (e.g.
  • Lead cross-functional teams for pre-silicon and post-silicon verification, audio and trace debugging, and software stability.
  • Manage software, system test, SCM, and QA teams in implementation, integration, and troubleshooting.
  • Used scrum methodology to manage projects for web-base and standalone software applications.
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Software project leader vs software project manager skills

Common software project leader skills
  • Software Development, 15%
  • Project Management, 9%
  • Scrum, 8%
  • C, 6%
  • C++, 6%
  • Java, 6%
Common software project manager skills
  • Project Management, 20%
  • Scrum, 7%
  • Development Process, 6%
  • UI, 5%
  • Jira, 5%
  • Software Project, 4%

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