Web Developer V. Software Engineer

I am back from a brief hiatus. I have been on the road for a bit but I am back. I have missed the daily routines I have instilled since covid began. I try to write a blog a week while honing my skills. Today, I wanted to use this time to dig into the difference between software engineers and web developers. Any job seeker will notice that searching for the two can have some overlap. Let’s take a look at the two individually and where they overlap.

First, let us take a brief look at software engineers. They traditionally come from a computer science/mathematics background with knowledge of many different languages. They can work on machine learning, database structures and a lot of traditional backend work. It is less about how skilled you are about one or two languages. It has a major focus on understanding the logic of writing the most efficient code. Though many major companies need both web developers and software engineers, the bigger tech companies are definitely looking for software engineers.

Web developers main focus is mobile development and websites. They have a knowledge of back end work but they should also be extremely proficient in UX/UI. These are in reference to user interface experience and user interface design. The ability to link these with databases and the backend framework is extremely important.

These two traditionally vary by education and pay. The ceiling is definitely higher for a software engineer because software engineer’s learning is much more abstract and less focused on the the newest trends. An example would be that a web developer might learn javascript but when Angular or React hit the market, their skillset becomes outdated if they don’t learn the newest framework whereas a software engineer may need to learn new updates with their languages but the abstract logic remains the same. From a quick internet search, you will notice that software engineers can net a six-figure income easier than a web developer but a web developer still makes a good chunk of change ($70,000+).

A major overlap is what we’d call full stack developers. These positions should understand both front end and back end logic. They should learn the basics of software engineering and understand how data structures and algorithms work while also focusing on a large chunk of what web developers understand as well. Both positions are sought after as is a full stack developer. I would say it is important to understand what it takes to become both and choose your direction from there. No way is right or wrong, just different. I hope this helps you make your decision if you are undecided on the direction you’d like to head down. As always, take care and happy coding friends.