Senior Android application developers tend to earn more money than similarly experienced iOS developers, according to data from worldwide recruiting and staffing firm CyberCoders.
At the senior level, Android developers receive an average of $10,000 more a year in salary than their iOS counterparts, according to CyberCoders, which compiled its research from information from 2011 to 2013.
However, developers who specialize in Apple’s mobile operating system saw close to a 20 percent increase in hiring over Android developers, proving senior Android specialists may make more, but the demand for those who work on iOS continues to climb.
“It is a very interesting and dynamic hiring climate for mobile developers,” Heidi Golledge, CEO and co-founder of CyberCoders, said in a statement. “Although Android’s latest numbers put them at about a 53 percent market share, we have seen a great increase in hiring for iOS developers.”
At the junior level, iOS and Android developers make relatively the same amount per year, Matt Miller, chief technology officer at CyberCoders, said.
“Our data shows mobile developers on either platform average about $107,000 a year, but when we compare senior developers, Android developers are earning stronger salaries at an average of $10,000 more than their iOS counterparts,” he said.
According to the CyberCoders data, senior or lead Android developers earn an average of $131,571 a year, while senior or lead iOS developers earn an average of $121,117. Meanwhile, Android developers with moderate experience earn an average of $107,185, and similarly experienced iOS developers earn an average of $107,081 a year, the CyberCoders data showed.
The TIOBE Index for October 2013 shows that Java, upon which Android is based, is the second most popular programming language in the world. The same TIOBE Index lists Objective-C, the language for developing iOS applications, as the third most popular programming language. The TIOBE Index lists C as the most popular language currently in use.
Data reported earlier this year from Dice.com showed that more than one in five of the jobs posted on the career and employment site included a reference to the need for Java capabilities. The Dice study, which looked at the top skills on hiring managers’ wish lists, showed that Java/J2EE (Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition) developers came in first place both this year and last.