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The differences between chief technologists and chief engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-8 years to become a chief technologist, becoming a chief engineer takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a chief engineer has an average salary of $108,050, which is higher than the $105,294 average annual salary of a chief technologist.
The top three skills for a chief technologist include patients, patient care and infrastructure. The most important skills for a chief engineer are HVAC, plumbing, and customer service.
| Chief Technologist | Chief Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $105,294 | $108,050 |
| Hourly rate | $50.62 | $51.95 |
| Growth rate | 16% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 66,399 | 88,473 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 47 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 8 | 6 |
Chief technologists or chief technical officers deal with the technological needs of a company's research and development. They study the long and short-term effects of investments to help other organizations reach their individual technological goals. These technologists are required to have advanced knowledge in IT and analytical skills to excel in this position. They represent their company in academic, industrial, and government groups to publicize their organization and to collect valuable data for their research.
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.
Chief technologists and chief engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Chief Technologist | Chief Engineer | |
| Average salary | $105,294 | $108,050 |
| Salary range | Between $70,000 And $156,000 | Between $65,000 And $177,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Palo Alto, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Federal Deposit Insurance | BGC Partners |
| Best paying industry | - | Transportation |
There are a few differences between a chief technologist and a chief engineer in terms of educational background:
| Chief Technologist | Chief Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Carnegie Mellon University | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between chief technologists' and chief engineers' demographics:
| Chief Technologist | Chief Engineer | |
| Average age | 47 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 77.7% Female, 22.3% | Male, 96.2% Female, 3.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.6% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 10.0% Asian, 12.7% White, 65.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | 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% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 5% |