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System development manager vs application manager

The differences between system development managers and application managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-8 years to become both a system development manager and an application manager. Additionally, an application manager has an average salary of $122,748, which is higher than the $122,528 average annual salary of a system development manager.

The top three skills for a system development manager include infrastructure, systems development and architecture. The most important skills for an application manager are customer service, project management, and application development.

System development manager vs application manager overview

System Development ManagerApplication Manager
Yearly salary$122,528$122,748
Hourly rate$58.91$59.01
Growth rate16%16%
Number of jobs191,514125,760
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 74%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age4747
Years of experience88

System development manager vs application manager salary

System development managers and application managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

System Development ManagerApplication Manager
Average salary$122,528$122,748
Salary rangeBetween $96,000 And $156,000Between $93,000 And $160,000
Highest paying CitySeattle, WASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateWashingtonCalifornia
Best paying companyAppleRoku
Best paying industryTechnologyFinance

Differences between system development manager and application manager education

There are a few differences between a system development manager and an application manager in terms of educational background:

System Development ManagerApplication Manager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 74%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common majorComputer ScienceBusiness
Most common collegeCarnegie Mellon UniversityCarnegie Mellon University

System development manager vs application manager demographics

Here are the differences between system development managers' and application managers' demographics:

System Development ManagerApplication Manager
Average age4747
Gender ratioMale, 78.2% Female, 21.8%Male, 71.1% Female, 28.9%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.7% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 10.1% Asian, 12.6% White, 65.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%Black or African American, 6.8% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 10.2% Asian, 13.5% White, 64.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage11%11%

Differences between system development manager and application manager duties and responsibilities

System development manager example responsibilities.

  • Lead design of POS replenishment process and software design/implementation to significantly increase retail sales.
  • Collaborate with QA to maintain test environment and conduct different level of software testing.
  • Perform QA analysis on all aspects of vendor's original code and custom modifications.
  • Develop operational procedures and train corporate staff for support of ERP and HRIS systems.
  • Serve as a member of the team to port the company's in-house ERP from FoxPro to SQL.
  • Create and maintain disaster recovery database for customer installations creating revenue stream and minimizing customer impact of system failure.
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Application manager example responsibilities.

  • Manage the migration of all EDI infrastructures to a new ERP system on time and on budget.
  • Manage development and QA teams prior to releases; organize UAT test cycles with various business groups.
  • Manage organizational change via the PMO department
  • Manage separation of companies to individual ERP environments.
  • Manage methodologies to support Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) application requirements.
  • Lead design of POS replenishment process and software design/implementation to significantly increase retail sales.
  • Show more

System development manager vs application manager skills

Common system development manager skills
  • Infrastructure, 11%
  • Systems Development, 9%
  • Architecture, 7%
  • Software Development, 7%
  • Java, 7%
  • Project Management, 7%
Common application manager skills
  • Customer Service, 10%
  • Project Management, 10%
  • Application Development, 5%
  • Architecture, 4%
  • Infrastructure, 4%
  • Software Development, 4%

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