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Software support manager vs software development manager

The differences between software support managers and software development managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-8 years to become a software support manager, becoming a software development manager takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a software development manager has an average salary of $134,747, which is higher than the $104,045 average annual salary of a software support manager.

The top three skills for a software support manager include software support, software development and technical support. The most important skills for a software development manager are java, AWS, and architecture.

Software support manager vs software development manager overview

Software Support ManagerSoftware Development Manager
Yearly salary$104,045$134,747
Hourly rate$50.02$64.78
Growth rate16%21%
Number of jobs113,869265,464
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Average age4744
Years of experience86

What does a software support manager do?

A software support manager updates software, oversees a team, and ensures risk assessment activities are completed. They also create progress reports and manage documentation for their team. Ultimately, they manage, install, restore and debug software.

What does a software development manager do?

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.

Software support manager vs software development manager salary

Software support managers and software development managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Software Support ManagerSoftware Development Manager
Average salary$104,045$134,747
Salary rangeBetween $76,000 And $141,000Between $100,000 And $180,000
Highest paying CityFoster City, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaAlaska
Best paying companyNVIDIAMeta
Best paying industryTelecommunicationTechnology

Differences between software support manager and software development manager education

There are a few differences between a software support manager and a software development manager in terms of educational background:

Software Support ManagerSoftware Development Manager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Most common majorBusinessComputer Science
Most common collegeCarnegie Mellon UniversityStanford University

Software support manager vs software development manager demographics

Here are the differences between software support managers' and software development managers' demographics:

Software Support ManagerSoftware Development Manager
Average age4744
Gender ratioMale, 71.0% Female, 29.0%Male, 85.1% Female, 14.9%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.8% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 10.2% Asian, 12.6% White, 65.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%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%
LGBT Percentage11%11%

Differences between software support manager and software development manager duties and responsibilities

Software support manager example responsibilities.

  • Manage Linux client problem reports and engineering responses.
  • Manage programmers in the design, development, testing and debugging of sophisticate computer graphics applications.
  • Develop and run SQL and PL/SQL scripts as a workaround to resolve critical billing issues.
  • Focuse in the areas of Linux BSP, network protocol stacks data, control and management plane software.
  • Monitor JIRA tickets to ensure completeness and accuracy both before development begins and throughout the ticket's development lifecycle.
  • Used SQL, PL/SQL, data dictionaries, configuration and performance tuning utilities and operating system level scripting extensively.
  • Show more

Software development manager example responsibilities.

  • Plan and manage release schedules, upgrades and patches, maintenance windows.
  • Justify, evaluate, hire, and manage offshore contractors to supplement staff for a large HTML form coding project.
  • Manage workflow of projects through JIRA, ensuring that all necessary reviews are perform and projects are successfully release to production.
  • Manage all phases of application design--from requirements gathering, coding and prototyping through system testing, integration and deployment.
  • Manage many infrastructure upgrade projects nationwide.
  • Manage resource allocation for Lawson ERP implementation project.
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Software support manager vs software development manager skills

Common software support manager skills
  • Software Support, 12%
  • Software Development, 11%
  • Technical Support, 8%
  • Customer Support, 6%
  • Database, 6%
  • SQL Server, 5%
Common software development manager skills
  • Java, 17%
  • AWS, 9%
  • Architecture, 8%
  • Project Management, 4%
  • Database, 4%
  • Cloud Computing, 3%

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