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The differences between solutions engineers and software engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a solutions engineer, becoming a software engineer takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a software engineer has an average salary of $100,260, which is higher than the $95,482 average annual salary of a solutions engineer.
The top three skills for a solutions engineer include cloud, pre sales and java. The most important skills for a software engineer are java, python, and software development.
| Solutions Engineer | Software Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $95,482 | $100,260 |
| Hourly rate | $45.90 | $48.20 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 123,287 | 339,938 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 3.5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Average age | 44 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 4 |
A solutions engineer is an individual who assists customers in identifying their computer software needs and generates customized business software solutions for them. Solutions engineers collaborate with other department engineers to create practical demonstrations of proposed solutions and showcase them to the other members of the team. They are required to test the installed software and fix programming bugs that create errors with the system. Solutions engineers also maintain customer relations by providing post-installation follow-ups.
A software engineer is a computer science professional who is responsible for the development of information systems, designing and building computer systems software and applications software. They often prefer to call themselves as a software developer or computer programmer. They have substantial knowledge of programming languages, software development, and computer operating systems, and other technologies. They use these to turn a plan into a final output. They can create a design, test, and develop software based on the needs of their clients.
Solutions engineers and software engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Solutions Engineer | Software Engineer | |
| Average salary | $95,482 | $100,260 |
| Salary range | Between $68,000 And $134,000 | Between $73,000 And $136,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Bruno, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | ByteDance | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Start-up | Start-up |
There are a few differences between a solutions engineer and a software engineer in terms of educational background:
| Solutions Engineer | Software Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between solutions engineers' and software engineers' demographics:
| Solutions Engineer | Software Engineer | |
| Average age | 44 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 85.1% Female, 14.9% | Male, 78.0% Female, 22.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 1.4% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 6.9% Asian, 10.8% White, 74.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 4.4% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.1% Asian, 34.0% White, 48.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 8% |