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The differences between contract mechanical engineers and lead 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 contract mechanical engineer and a lead engineer. Additionally, a lead engineer has an average salary of $84,927, which is higher than the $84,269 average annual salary of a contract mechanical engineer.
The top three skills for a contract mechanical engineer include solidworks, assembly drawings and autocad. The most important skills for a lead engineer are java, python, and architecture.
| Contract Mechanical Engineer | Lead Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $84,269 | $84,927 |
| Hourly rate | $40.51 | $40.83 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 84,503 | 301,777 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 81% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
Contract mechanical engineers and lead engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Contract Mechanical Engineer | Lead Engineer | |
| Average salary | $84,269 | $84,927 |
| Salary range | Between $64,000 And $110,000 | Between $60,000 And $120,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | - | Meta |
| Best paying industry | - | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a contract mechanical engineer and a lead engineer in terms of educational background:
| Contract Mechanical Engineer | Lead Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 81% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Michigan Technological University | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between contract mechanical engineers' and lead engineers' demographics:
| Contract Mechanical Engineer | Lead Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 91.5% Female, 8.5% | Male, 90.8% Female, 9.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.3% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.0% Asian, 13.9% White, 69.1% 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, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |