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The differences between chief engineers and chief technology officers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a chief engineer, becoming a chief technology officer takes usually requires More than 10 years. Additionally, a chief technology officer has an average salary of $172,989, which is higher than the $108,050 average annual salary of a chief engineer.
The top three skills for a chief engineer include HVAC, plumbing and customer service. The most important skills for a chief technology officer are infrastructure, cloud, and architecture.
| Chief Engineer | Chief Technology Officer | |
| Yearly salary | $108,050 | $172,989 |
| Hourly rate | $51.95 | $83.17 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 88,473 | 124,289 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 49% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Average age | 41 | 52 |
| Years of experience | 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.
The job of chief technology officers (CTOs) is to oversee the technological needs and research and development of an organization. The CTOs, who are like chief information officers, make decisions for a company's technology infrastructure that aligns with the organization's business goals. They must ensure that they are updated on new and existing technologies for them to guide the company's future endeavors. Other responsibilities include fixing issues related to information technology, developing and managing the company's technological resources, and participating in management decisions on corporate governance.
Chief engineers and chief technology officers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Chief Engineer | Chief Technology Officer | |
| Average salary | $108,050 | $172,989 |
| Salary range | Between $65,000 And $177,000 | Between $105,000 And $284,000 |
| Highest paying City | Palo Alto, CA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | California | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | BGC Partners | InPhonex |
| Best paying industry | Transportation | Telecommunication |
There are a few differences between a chief engineer and a chief technology officer in terms of educational background:
| Chief Engineer | Chief Technology Officer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 49% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Michigan Technological University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between chief engineers' and chief technology officers' demographics:
| Chief Engineer | Chief Technology Officer | |
| Average age | 41 | 52 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 96.2% Female, 3.8% | Male, 91.6% Female, 8.4% |
| 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, 3.8% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 7.7% White, 76.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 12% |