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The differences between compliance engineers and senior staff engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a compliance engineer, becoming a senior staff engineer takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a senior staff engineer has an average salary of $136,031, which is higher than the $97,578 average annual salary of a compliance engineer.
The top three skills for a compliance engineer include regulatory compliance, ISO and project management. The most important skills for a senior staff engineer are python, java, and architecture.
| Compliance Engineer | Senior Staff Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $97,578 | $136,031 |
| Hourly rate | $46.91 | $65.40 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 43,447 | 239,752 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 6 |
A compliance engineer specializes in developing systems and strategies to ensure that all products adhere to the company's safety and quality standards. Their responsibilities include coordinating with departments and staff to gather and analyze data, developing test procedures and guidelines, analyzing existing compliance procedures to identify areas needing improvement, implementing solutions, and maintaining records of all procedures and test results. Furthermore, a compliance engineer must prepare and submit compliance reports and analysis, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
A senior staff engineer is responsible for supervising a team of engineers, chemists, software developers, or molecular biologists. His/Her or her responsibilities include generating Structured Query Language (SQL) performance audit checklist template, creating SQL data query routines and functions for data extraction, and working directly with stakeholders. The job requires strong mechanical, listening, and mathematical skills and proficiency in Python programming language and computer architecture and hardware. The education requirements for the job include a bachelor's or master's degree in electrical engineering, business, mechanical engineering, or a related field.
Compliance engineers and senior staff engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Compliance Engineer | Senior Staff Engineer | |
| Average salary | $97,578 | $136,031 |
| Salary range | Between $68,000 And $138,000 | Between $95,000 And $194,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Mateo, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | Airbnb |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Telecommunication |
There are a few differences between a compliance engineer and a senior staff engineer in terms of educational background:
| Compliance Engineer | Senior Staff Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | California State Polytechnic University, Pomona |
Here are the differences between compliance engineers' and senior staff engineers' demographics:
| Compliance Engineer | Senior Staff Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 80.4% Female, 19.6% | Male, 78.4% Female, 21.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.7% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.7% Asian, 13.1% White, 66.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | 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 | 4% | 5% |