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Technology architect vs developer

The differences between technology architects and developers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a technology architect and a developer. Additionally, a technology architect has an average salary of $108,837, which is higher than the $100,076 average annual salary of a developer.

The top three skills for a technology architect include cloud, java and apex. The most important skills for a developer are javascript, python, and java.

Technology architect vs developer overview

Technology ArchitectDeveloper
Yearly salary$108,837$100,076
Hourly rate$52.33$48.11
Growth rate3%21%
Number of jobs131,229262,570
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 65%Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Average age4539
Years of experience44

What does a technology architect do?

A Technology Architect anticipates and indentifies the IT needs and problems of a company and designs efficient solutions to them. They are usually specialized in specific fields of an IT framework, such as security.

What does a developer do?

Developers are usually system or application developers in a company who work on specific projects related to networks or applications from conception to implementation. They attend planning sessions to ensure that the program is feasible. They are responsible for designing the system through coding and basic user interface design. They also work on troubleshooting any challenges that may be met at the testing stage of the program's development. They solve challenges and ensure that minimal problems will arise upon publishing the system or application. They also manage the evaluation to ensure that the program's goals are accomplished and that the end-users are satisfied with the results.

Technology architect vs developer salary

Technology architects and developers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Technology ArchitectDeveloper
Average salary$108,837$100,076
Salary rangeBetween $83,000 And $142,000Between $76,000 And $131,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CA-
Highest paying stateAlaskaWashington
Best paying companyMeta-
Best paying industryTelecommunicationFinance

Differences between technology architect and developer education

There are a few differences between a technology architect and a developer in terms of educational background:

Technology ArchitectDeveloper
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 65%Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Most common majorComputer ScienceComputer Science
Most common collegeCornell UniversityMassachusetts Institute of Technology

Technology architect vs developer demographics

Here are the differences between technology architects' and developers' demographics:

Technology ArchitectDeveloper
Average age4539
Gender ratioMale, 87.8% Female, 12.2%Male, 74.9% Female, 25.1%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 2.3% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 12.1% Asian, 16.3% White, 65.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%Black 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%
LGBT Percentage15%8%

Differences between technology architect and developer duties and responsibilities

Technology architect example responsibilities.

  • Design and manage the LDAP database which, are used by the various applications in the OpenLoop platform for authentication.
  • Lead a team of up to 7 developers for PeopleSoft CRM implementation project with responsibilities for design, development and deployment.
  • Manage the architecture road map of CSS, a private label version of PeopleSoft, used for large on-site payroll customers.
  • Manage updates using Informatica PowerCenter.
  • Create a flexible ETL integration framework utilizing BCP and SSIS to consolidate and automate redundant/repetitive processes.
  • Provide insight and manage all technology relate aspects with presentations and communications at Sr. management and CxO level.
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Developer example responsibilities.

  • Manage continuous integration, configure the servers using Jenkins.
  • Analyze and manage the project throughout SDLC, written/review specification documents.
  • Configure and manage JGroup multicasting communication for apache tomcat web servers.
  • Upgrade internal loan and prospect tracking system to be more responsive and utilizing the latest in CSS & HTML.
  • Implement this application, using object-orient Perl to dynamically generate HTML with embed JavaScript, interacting with back-end databases via DBI/DBD.
  • Integrate content feeds via JSON, XML, and RSS from both internal and external sources into web content management components.
  • Show more

Technology architect vs developer skills

Common technology architect skills
  • Cloud, 9%
  • Java, 9%
  • Apex, 4%
  • Infrastructure, 4%
  • CRM, 3%
  • Emerging Technologies, 3%
Common developer skills
  • JavaScript, 7%
  • Python, 6%
  • Java, 6%
  • C++, 5%
  • API, 4%
  • CSS, 4%

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