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The differences between chief architects and principal architects can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a chief architect has an average salary of $168,836, which is higher than the $133,276 average annual salary of a principal architect.
The top three skills for a chief architect include cloud, infrastructure and digital transformation. The most important skills for a principal architect are cloud, infrastructure, and emerging technologies.
| Chief Architect | Principal Architect | |
| Yearly salary | $168,836 | $133,276 |
| Hourly rate | $81.17 | $64.08 |
| Growth rate | 21% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 98,518 | 118,908 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
Chief architects are C-level executives in information technology (IT) who look at IT functions that may be centralized for seamless collaboration. They are also called enterprise architects who design and manage the software release team base on the scrum/agile development methodologies. Their job involves systems analysis, and they project plan in transitioning the Internet operation of MCI to wireless and cable platforms. Also, they offer a disaster recovery solution for a virtual or physical server to a data center in the cloud.
Principal Architects manage all design work at an architecture firm. They ensure that all work is of high professional quality and manage the activity of other design professionals.
Chief architects and principal architects have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Chief Architect | Principal Architect | |
| Average salary | $168,836 | $133,276 |
| Salary range | Between $111,000 And $255,000 | Between $97,000 And $181,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | Zscaler | |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Technology |
There are a few differences between a chief architect and a principal architect in terms of educational background:
| Chief Architect | Principal Architect | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Architecture |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between chief architects' and principal architects' demographics:
| Chief Architect | Principal Architect | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 92.7% Female, 7.3% | Male, 89.3% Female, 10.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 12.0% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 12.0% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |