Software Developer vs Software Engineer: Differences & Choosing the Right Career Path

With the rise of technology and internet, software-related jobs has become more and more in-demand. Two of the most popular software roles are Software Developer and Software Engineer. Despite the popularity, people who are not in the industry and aspiring software professionals often get the two roles confused.

While the two titles are often used interchangeably and the roles require similar educational backgrounds and technical skills, they have distinct day-to-day work, focuses and responsibilities.

The key differentiator between the two roles is that software developers focus on one specific phase of a software development life cycle (SDLC), while software engineers are involved in all phases of a software development life cycle (SDLC).

Do you want to learn more about the differences and similarities between a software developer and a software engineer? Are you looking to embark on a career journey in software development or engineering? Curious to know which role gets paid more, and which role is the better fit for you?

You're at the right place. This article will cover the differences, responsibilities, skill sets required and career paths of both software developer and software engineer roles. Let's get started!

Key Differences Between Software Developers and Software Engineers

First, let's dive deeper into what a software developer's role is.

Software developers primarily focus on developing a specific software or computer system. This means that their day-to-day primarily focuses on writing and testing code, with the objective of building a functional software that meet the customer's needs. This also means that software developers are more involved in the development stage of a software, as they contribute in designing and deploying applications.

Now, let's talk about the role of a software engineer.

A software engineer's primary focus is on building systems.

In the previous paragraph, we discussed how software developers focus on individual components or smaller systems. A software engineer utilizes their engineering mindset to build the bigger operating systems (or, overall software architecture) of those components and smaller systems. Software engineers work on defining the structure of components, how the components interact, and how data flows through the system.

Now that we've established the differences in role between a software developer vs software engineer, let's look at how they differ in scope, approach, responsibilities and collaboration.

1) Scope

Software developers often work on individual components or smaller systems. On the other hand, software engineers' scope is broader and focuses on designing systems in which the software developers work within.

For example, a software engineer might design a scalable architecture for a cloud-based application, considering factors like security, performance, and maintainability. They might also work on defining standards and best practices for the development team. A software developer will then take the specifications provided by the software engineer and write the actual code to implement a user authentication feature for the cloud-based application, ensuring it meets the outlined requirements and works seamlessly within the existing system.

2) Approach

Due to the nature of their work focus, the approaches taken by software developers and engineers can differ significantly.

Software developers tend to apply the following approaches:

• Implementation-Focused: Developers primarily concentrate on coding and building features. They may work within established frameworks and guidelines set by engineers.
• Iterative Development: While they may also use Agile methodologies, their focus is on rapid iteration and delivering features incrementally. They prioritize getting functional code out quickly for testing and feedback.
• Hands-On Coding: Developers spend a lot of time coding, debugging, and directly interacting with the software to ensure it meets functional requirements.

On the other hand, software engineers tend to apply the following approaches:

• Systems Thinking: Software engineers often take a holistic view of the system. They consider how different components interact, the overall architecture, and long-term scalability and maintainability.
• Analytical Methodology: They frequently employ rigorous methodologies such as Agile or DevOps, emphasizing documentation, testing, and feedback loops to ensure the system aligns with business requirements.
• Problem-Solving: Engineers are often involved in solving complex problems and designing solutions that address broader system challenges, like performance optimization or system integration.

3) Responsibilities

It is important to keep in mind that software engineers and software developers can work together on similar or the same projects with different responsibility scales or scopes. As such, both roles can be responsible for coding. However, they would write codes with different focuses in mind.

A software developer is responsible for the structure and functionality of specific software applications based on client or user requirements. They use programming languages to implement the designed software. Meanwhile, a software engineer not only writes code but also designs the overall architecture of the software application, which sets the guideline and framework for other developers to work with. Software engineers typically will need to focus on not just code quality but also maintainability and scalability across the project.

Here is an illustration of how software engineers and developers collaborate with their different responsibilities.

In this example, the software engineer lays the foundation and structure of the application, ensuring it is built to last and can grow over time. The software developer, on the other hand, focuses on building specific features within that structure, ensuring they function correctly and meet user requirements.

4) Collaboration

Due to the nature and focus of their roles, software developers and software engineers have different levels of team collaboration.

As software developers typically focus on implementation and spend a lot of time coding and debugging, the role requires more independent work. However, software developers are sometimes still required to collaborate with other developers and engineers.

Meanwhile, software engineers typically work in a highly collaborative environment with other engineers and developers. Due to the wide scope of their work maintaining and scaling systems and structures, software engineers are often required to collaborate with external teams like product and design.

The Overlap Between Software Developers and Software Engineers

Now that we have established the differences between software developers and engineers, it is also important to know how both roles overlap.

As we've read from the roles and responsibilities of both roles, you will also realize that both roles come with similar education and technical skills requirements. Both software developers and engineers are required to have coding skills and extensive knowledge of programming languages, which often comes with a Bachelor's degree or Master's degree in Computer Science. Both roles are also involved in a software development lifecycle (SDLC), from concept to deployment.

Sometimes, in smaller companies or startups, one person may take on both roles and the titles can be used interchangeably. Depending on the company and team you're working in, sometimes a software developer can be called a software engineer.

Career Path and Opportunities

Despite being two completely different job titles, both software development and software engineering offer strong career growth opportunities.

Software Developers Career Path & Opportunities

Software developers make US$131,000 per year, according to Glassdoor. Software developers can advance into roles such as:

• Senior Software Developer: Responsible for leading feature development, mentoring juniors, optimizing code.
• Lead Developer: Responsible for designing software systems, making high-level design decisions, and guiding the development team.
• Full Stack Developer: Working on both frontend and backend.
• Specialized Roles: Specializing in areas like mobile development, DevOps, or data science.

Software Engineers Career Path & Opportunities

Software engineers' median total pay is US$160,000 per year, according to Glassdoor. Software engineers often progress into leadership or system design roles, such as:

• Senior Software Engineer: Designing complex systems, setting technical direction, and ensuring code quality.
• Technical Lead: Overseeing development teams, managing project timelines, and coordinating between teams.
• Chief Technology Officer (CTO): Setting the overall technology strategy, representing technology in executive discussions, and driving innovation.

Software Developers & Software Engineers Job Outlook

Both software development and software engineering roles also have great job outlook.

As technology continues to advance and integrate into all aspects of life, the demand for skilled software engineers and developers remains high. Industries like finance, healthcare, education, and entertainment are increasingly relying on software solutions. There are opportunities in various sectors, from startups to large enterprises, as well as in emerging fields like AI, machine learning, and blockchain technology.

Many organizations are also undergoing digital transformation, creating a strong need for professionals who can build and maintain new applications and systems.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects that employment for software developers will grow significantly over the next decade, often estimating growth rates around 17%, which is much faster than the average for all occupations.

So... Which Career Path Is Right for You?

Now you might be wondering, which is better, a software engineer or software developer? Obviously, there is no one absolute answer to this question, as it would depend on what your interests, strengths and career goals are.

As we've understood from the responsibilities and characteristics of each role, you should be able to picture whether or not you will enjoy working the said job. If you enjoy problem-solving on a larger scale, systems design, and scalability, software engineering might be a better fit for you. But if you love coding and focusing on building user-facing features, software development may be the better choice.

You may start by asking yourself these questions:

• Do you enjoy working individually on "things" more than working with other people?
  If yes, then software development might be a good fit for you.
• Do you like to collaborate with other team members, whether technical or non-specialists to solve a problem?
  If yes, then software engineering might be a good fit for you as it requires more soft skills to collaborate with other engineers, developers and cross-functional teams.
• Do you picture yourself to become a specialist (specializing in one skill) or a generalist?
  • Specialist - Software development may offer more specialist career paths.
    Generalist - Software engineering may offer a more linear career path with leadership or management role potential.

Conclusion

If you are still unsure about establishing a career in software, we hope that this article helped provide more information you need about the roles. In this article, we've covered the differences and similarities between software developers and engineers:

• Developers primarily focus on developing a specific feature or computer system and are more involved in the development stage, whereas engineers utilize engineering principles to build the entire system architecture of those components and smaller systems.
• Both developer and engineering roles come with similar education and skill requirements: understanding of engineering principles, advanced technical skills (coding, programming languages, knowledge of computer programs and software industry), and/or an advanced degree in computer science or web development usually are part of the requirements.
• Both software engineering and development pay really well, offer strong career growth opportunities, and offer a great job outlook.

Continue to develop your skills in coding and system thinking, expand your professional network in the industry, and find out which parts of the job resonate more with your strengths and career goals. Then, you'll be on your way to an established career in software development and engineering!

— Originally written by Rachel Tristan —