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The differences between chief engineers and staff engineers 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 staff engineer. Additionally, a chief engineer has an average salary of $108,050, which is higher than the $107,530 average annual salary of a staff engineer.
The top three skills for a chief engineer include HVAC, plumbing and customer service. The most important skills for a staff engineer are java, python, and architecture.
| Chief Engineer | Staff Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $108,050 | $107,530 |
| Hourly rate | $51.95 | $51.70 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 88,473 | 277,011 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 49% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| 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.
Staff engineers are responsible for designing, developing, and inspecting various products, equipment, or structures. These professionals may perform varied duties depending on their specialization that includes overseeing the design and construction of buildings, bridges, sewer systems, and other infrastructure, estimating the financial costs of construction projects, and ensuring compliance with health and safety laws and regulations. Other duties include designing and developing machinery, tools, and engines, solving design problems, and building the manufacturing equipment needed to create their products.
Chief engineers and staff engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Chief Engineer | Staff Engineer | |
| Average salary | $108,050 | $107,530 |
| Salary range | Between $65,000 And $177,000 | Between $69,000 And $167,000 |
| Highest paying City | Palo Alto, CA | San Mateo, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | BGC Partners | Flexport |
| Best paying industry | Transportation | Telecommunication |
There are a few differences between a chief engineer and a staff engineer in terms of educational background:
| Chief Engineer | Staff Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 49% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Michigan Technological University | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between chief engineers' and staff engineers' demographics:
| Chief Engineer | Staff Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 96.2% Female, 3.8% | Male, 87.9% Female, 12.1% |
| 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, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 16.8% White, 67.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |