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The differences between staff engineers and software architects can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a staff engineer, becoming a software architect takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a software architect has an average salary of $114,406, which is higher than the $107,530 average annual salary of a staff engineer.
The top three skills for a staff engineer include java, python and architecture. The most important skills for a software architect are java, architecture, and cloud.
| Staff Engineer | Software Architect | |
| Yearly salary | $107,530 | $114,406 |
| Hourly rate | $51.70 | $55.00 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 277,011 | 319,594 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 41 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 4 |
Staff engineers are responsible for designing, developing, and inspecting various products, equipment, or structures. These professionals may perform varied duties depending on their specialization that includes overseeing the design and construction of buildings, bridges, sewer systems, and other infrastructure, estimating the financial costs of construction projects, and ensuring compliance with health and safety laws and regulations. Other duties include designing and developing machinery, tools, and engines, solving design problems, and building the manufacturing equipment needed to create their products.
A Software Architect develops new programs for a variety of technological devices for businesses, computer games, mobile networks, and/or operating systems. They ensure architectural integrity and consistency across the entire product and work closely with executives to explain the benefits of the software.
Staff engineers and software architects have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Staff Engineer | Software Architect | |
| Average salary | $107,530 | $114,406 |
| Salary range | Between $69,000 And $167,000 | Between $82,000 And $158,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Mateo, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Flexport | Aspiration |
| Best paying industry | Telecommunication | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a staff engineer and a software architect in terms of educational background:
| Staff Engineer | Software Architect | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between staff engineers' and software architects' demographics:
| Staff Engineer | Software Architect | |
| Average age | 41 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 87.9% Female, 12.1% | Male, 93.8% Female, 6.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 16.8% White, 67.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.1% Asian, 30.0% White, 52.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 8% |