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The differences between consultant systems engineers and senior systems engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a consultant systems engineer and a senior systems engineer. Additionally, a consultant systems engineer has an average salary of $112,898, which is higher than the $108,121 average annual salary of a senior systems engineer.
The top three skills for a consultant systems engineer include infrastructure, cloud and pre sales. The most important skills for a senior systems engineer are architecture, linux, and java.
| Consultant Systems Engineer | Senior Systems Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $112,898 | $108,121 |
| Hourly rate | $54.28 | $51.98 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 144,261 | 166,742 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Average age | 43 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A consultant systems engineer specializes in designing and developing systems to optimize business operations, recommending solutions against problem areas. Among their responsibilities include gathering and analyzing data to identify the needs of operations, designing prototypes and test structures, performing research and analysis to determine the ideal practices, assessing existing systems to identify their strengths and weaknesses, and establishing guidelines. Moreover, a consultant systems engineer must maintain an active communication line with staff, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
A senior systems engineer specializes in overseeing network systems, management tools, software, and hardware within a company or an organization. Their primary responsibility is to install, maintain, and resolve complex system issues using their years of extensive knowledge and expertise. They can also provide insights, troubleshooting, and technical support should it be needed. Furthermore, as a senior systems engineer, it is also their responsibility to lead, supervise, and coordinate with a team of skilled system engineers while in adherence to company policies and regulations.
Consultant systems engineers and senior systems engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Consultant Systems Engineer | Senior Systems Engineer | |
| Average salary | $112,898 | $108,121 |
| Salary range | Between $90,000 And $141,000 | Between $82,000 And $141,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | Redwood City, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Washington |
| Best paying company | Fortinet | Roku |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Retail |
There are a few differences between a consultant systems engineer and a senior systems engineer in terms of educational background:
| Consultant Systems Engineer | Senior Systems Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | California State University - Long Beach |
Here are the differences between consultant systems engineers' and senior systems engineers' demographics:
| Consultant Systems Engineer | Senior Systems Engineer | |
| Average age | 43 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 86.1% Female, 13.9% | Male, 88.6% Female, 11.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 12.2% Asian, 12.7% White, 61.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.1% Asian, 30.0% White, 52.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 8% |