What is a programmer vs a developer?

While both words may mean the same thing to the layperson, programmers and developers are two different types of IT professionals.

The difference is even more important for technical recruiters, as poor recruitment decisions can drastically reduce the efficiency of the team.

Programmer

In terms of project development, the role of a programmer is very specific.

They are usually proficient in more than one programming language. Their job is concerned with the coding and testing of the project. Thus, they are responsible for converting the project design into instructions and then into code.

Developer

The role of a developer varies from a programmer’s mainly in terms of breadth.

While a developer is expected to code (just like a programmer), they are more involved in the overall project and understand its scope better.

Their duties related to the project consist of the following:

• research
• specification and development
• maintenance
• core implementation
• testing

Due to the span of their responsibilities, developers are expected to have a wider range of skills. This includes more teamwork and other soft skills as compared to programmers.

To summarize, the difference between programmers and developers can be differentiated like this: programmers are technicians with a specific set of skills, while developers are project managers with a broader set of skills and more understanding of the project.