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The differences between application engineers and solutions engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both an application engineer and a solutions engineer. Additionally, a solutions engineer has an average salary of $95,482, which is higher than the $92,921 average annual salary of an application engineer.
The top three skills for an application engineer include technical support, java and C++. The most important skills for a solutions engineer are cloud, pre sales, and java.
| Application Engineer | Solutions Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $92,921 | $95,482 |
| Hourly rate | $44.67 | $45.90 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 111,338 | 123,287 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
An application engineer is responsible for creating and re-designing system applications based on clients' specifications and sales demands. Application engineers run diagnostic tests on software programs, identify areas of improvement, install necessary updates, upgrade optimization, revise system codes, and provide technical support for customers' needs. They also generate ideas and locate other business opportunities by analyzing current trends in the technology market that would help build revenues and increase profitability for the company. An application engineer must have a strong command of programming languages, software application processes, and general technology disciplines.
A solutions engineer is an individual who assists customers in identifying their computer software needs and generates customized business software solutions for them. Solutions engineers collaborate with other department engineers to create practical demonstrations of proposed solutions and showcase them to the other members of the team. They are required to test the installed software and fix programming bugs that create errors with the system. Solutions engineers also maintain customer relations by providing post-installation follow-ups.
Application engineers and solutions engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Application Engineer | Solutions Engineer | |
| Average salary | $92,921 | $95,482 |
| Salary range | Between $69,000 And $125,000 | Between $68,000 And $134,000 |
| Highest paying City | Redwood City, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Morgan Lewis | ByteDance |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Start-up |
There are a few differences between an application engineer and a solutions engineer in terms of educational background:
| Application Engineer | Solutions Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Georgia Institute of Technology | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between application engineers' and solutions engineers' demographics:
| Application Engineer | Solutions Engineer | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 87.4% Female, 12.6% | Male, 85.1% Female, 14.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 1.4% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 6.7% Asian, 11.5% White, 74.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 1.4% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 6.9% Asian, 10.8% White, 74.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |