Software Developer vs Software Engineer: What is the main difference?

Have you ever noticed that some tech professionals call themselves software developers while others call themselves Software engineers? Engineers don’t want others to call them developers, and vice versa. The Software developer vs. Software engineer debate is a hot topic in the software industry.

From the face value, both of these terms are the same for a person who builds software programs. Although this is partially true, there are a few key differences between these two posts.

Knowing the difference between a software developer and an engineer is imperative. Let’s understand the key differences between the Developer and Engineering positions in the software industry.

What is a Software Developer?

Software Developers have the key responsibility of developing software programs or apps based on the design and architecture provided to them. The developers have to use their programming skills to build the software programs and apps as per the instructions.

Software Developers are always a part of the entire software development lifecycle and work with the entire team of engineers, other developers, and managers.

Software developers must work with a specific set of programming languages and the tech stack. They must also be proficient in other tools related to project management, software testing, and maintenance.

What is a Software Engineer?

A software engineer can do everything that a Software Developer can do. However, engineers are assigned many more responsibilities.

Software engineers have to work on the entire software development lifecycle and get the work done by the developers. Engineers can help the entire software development process with engineering principles, system design, architecture setup, and actual coding, which developers often miss.

From the first step of the development cycle, the engineers are involved and they stay connected with the project till final delivery and the maintenance phases. In short, the Software Engineers have a much more significant role in the lifecycle of the software developments.

Key Differences Between Software Developers and Software Engineers

#1 – Key Role

There is a huge difference between the roles of the software developers and engineers. The role of software developers is to build the software by making their hands dirty. The majority of the coding work is done by the developers.

The development, testing and the maintenance of the software and systems is done by the developers. With the core and practical knowledge about the progrramming languages, the software developers have a big role in the actual development and testing cycle of the software programs.

On the other hand, the software engineers play a bit of a broad role. In the big corporations, the software engineers have the role of conceptualization, understanding the requirements of the clients or the customers base, designing the software and getting work done from the developers.

It doesn’t mean that the engineers don’t have coding or programming knowledge. The main focus is on the theoretical part and communication with the team members and key stakeholders of the project.

#2 – Educational Qualifications

Education is one of the key factors that differentiates between the software developer and engineer post. Fortunately, the recent days have made it easier to enter this field, and hence, the differentiation has reduced significantly.

Typically, the software developer has the practical knowledge of the programming languages. This can come from the traditional paths like the Bachelors or Masters degree in engineering or computer science. Also, the modern education paths like self-taught programming and coding bootcamps are pretty common.

There is no exceptional difference in the software engineer education path aswell. They share the similar educational paths like the software developers. But, the specific differentiation is the degree specific to Software Engineering or Computer Science Engineering. The Software engineers usually have the Engineers degree and hence they are recruited for this role.

#3 – Working Methodology

The working methodology plays an important role in separating the developers from engineers. The software developers typically work on the coding, testing and maintenance of the software.

They work on the instructions received from the team managers, which are the engineers. Their job is to build the software piece by piece in a structured way. They use a wide range of tools and programming languages to do the same.

On the other hand, software engineers don’t usually code the entire software. Their job is to build the entire software development life cycle, set up the deadlines, break down the tasks, assign those tasks to the developers, review the completed code, confirm the changes, communicate with the team and the clients, and eventually work on the coding part of the software programs. Both of the roles are different in nature and have different approaches to the same project.

#4 – Approach towards Work

The work of software developers is much focused on creativity and focus. They have to use their programming skills in the preferred tech stack and then focus on creating the software programs bit by bit. They can use their creative mind to change the approach and write code in an efficient or unique way.

Their end goal is to complete the software programs while adhering to the project requirements. Even if they face numerous problems while completing their work, the creative approach can help solve them.

However, software engineers don’t have that freedom, as they have to take a strict approach to their work. With the set principles for designing the software architecture, development life cycle, breaking down the tasks, and all other mundane routine tasks. The analytical mindset of the engineers comes in handy here as they have to tackle some broad problems that cannot be solved through the little creative aspect.

#5 – Salary Structure

Salary strikingly separates the software developers and software engineers. Software engineers earn more than the Software developers all over the world. The average salary of software developers in the United States is $120,000, and software engineers earn $139,000. There is a striking difference between the average salaries.

Even though the skills and roles of the engineers and developers overlap, the pay difference is quite striking. It may differ due to the educational requirements, approach to the work, and responsibilities.

Which Role is Right For you?

Choosing between the Developer and Engineer is quite confusing for many candidates. Both of these roles are professionally lucrative, but choosing the engineering or development profession is quite important.

Software development is a creative and focus-oriented role. You have limited responsibilities, but the work will be packed with action. There will be numerous problems while coding, building the programs, testing it out and maintaining the same. If you like the high-action jobs that require you to get your hands dirty, then a software developer career is what you should choose.

For those who love the strategic and analytical approach to the development, being a software engineer is a perfect option. With the strategic approach to the SDLC ( Software Development Life Cycle ), being a Tech Lead and client communications, you can reach higher positions in your career.

According to the research from SavvyComSoftware, the Software industry is expeciting 17% job growth across all industries in coming years. Hence, it’s the right time to jump into this industry and grab your position to grow professionally.