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The differences between consultant systems engineers and 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 systems engineer. Additionally, a consultant systems engineer has an average salary of $112,898, which is higher than the $82,834 average annual salary of a systems engineer.
The top three skills for a consultant systems engineer include infrastructure, cloud and pre sales. The most important skills for a systems engineer are python, linux, and C++.
| Consultant Systems Engineer | Systems Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $112,898 | $82,834 |
| Hourly rate | $54.28 | $39.82 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 144,261 | 145,936 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| 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.
Systems engineers are responsible for creating and overseeing systems related to the overall operations of the organization. They are in charge of assessing the organization's needs in terms of systems and creating plans to address these needs. These systems are usually related to the production or manufacturing of company products. Systems engineers create end-to-end processes that ensure efficiency and effectiveness. They make sure that the processes they put in place adhere to safety and security policies and guidelines. They also do routine checks and continuously find ways to further improve production and other systems.
Consultant systems engineers and systems engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Consultant Systems Engineer | Systems Engineer | |
| Average salary | $112,898 | $82,834 |
| Salary range | Between $90,000 And $141,000 | Between $62,000 And $109,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | Fortinet | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a consultant systems engineer and a systems engineer in terms of educational background:
| Consultant Systems Engineer | Systems Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| 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 systems engineers' demographics:
| Consultant Systems Engineer | Systems Engineer | |
| Average age | 43 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 86.1% Female, 13.9% | Male, 86.1% Female, 13.9% |
| 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, 4.7% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 8.4% Asian, 29.7% White, 52.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 8% |