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The differences between chief engineers and captains can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a chief engineer and a captain. Additionally, a chief engineer has an average salary of $108,050, which is higher than the $52,161 average annual salary of a captain.
The top three skills for a chief engineer include HVAC, plumbing and customer service. The most important skills for a captain are customer service, safety standards, and food preparation.
| Chief Engineer | Captain | |
| Yearly salary | $108,050 | $52,161 |
| Hourly rate | $51.95 | $25.08 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 1% |
| Number of jobs | 88,473 | 4,430 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 49% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 41 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A chief engineer is responsible for monitoring the engineering department's overall operations, ensuring performance efficiency, and everyone's strict compliance with the safety standards and regulatory procedures. Chief engineers manage the distribution of the tasks to the team, communicate with the clients and management for instructions and specifications, monitor expenses and forecast sales reports, analyze and approve designs, negotiate contracts, and process disputes. A chief engineer must have excellent knowledge of the engineering disciplines and exemplary leadership skills to handle the team's performance towards the company's objectives.
Captains oversee the entire operations of a sea vessel, usually ships. Their main responsibility is to ensure that the vessel safely travels from point A to point B. They are expert navigators who manage the course of the vessel. Captains should also be familiar with the different equipment aboard the ship and should be able to use them effectively. They should know how to properly maintain the equipment on board and should also know how to do repairs. Captains also manage their ship's crew and oversee the crews' overall performance. They also manage the finances and other operations-related activities during the course of their travel. Captains should have good communication skills, quick decision-making skills, and expert navigation skills.
Chief engineers and captains have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Chief Engineer | Captain | |
| Average salary | $108,050 | $52,161 |
| Salary range | Between $65,000 And $177,000 | Between $31,000 And $85,000 |
| Highest paying City | Palo Alto, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | BGC Partners | |
| Best paying industry | Transportation | Transportation |
There are a few differences between a chief engineer and a captain in terms of educational background:
| Chief Engineer | Captain | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 49% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Business |
| Most common college | Michigan Technological University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between chief engineers' and captains' demographics:
| Chief Engineer | Captain | |
| Average age | 41 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 96.2% Female, 3.8% | Male, 65.4% Female, 34.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.5% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.9% Asian, 10.2% White, 71.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 6.7% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 3.1% White, 75.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 11% |