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The differences between contract project 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 project engineer and a lead engineer. Additionally, a lead engineer has an average salary of $84,927, which is higher than the $77,050 average annual salary of a contract project engineer.
The top three skills for a contract project engineer include construction projects, construction management and HVAC. The most important skills for a lead engineer are java, python, and architecture.
| Contract Project Engineer | Lead Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $77,050 | $84,927 |
| Hourly rate | $37.04 | $40.83 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 105,706 | 301,777 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 77% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
Contract project engineers and lead engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Contract Project Engineer | Lead Engineer | |
| Average salary | $77,050 | $84,927 |
| Salary range | Between $56,000 And $105,000 | 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 project engineer and a lead engineer in terms of educational background:
| Contract Project Engineer | Lead Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 77% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Georgia Institute of Technology | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between contract project engineers' and lead engineers' demographics:
| Contract Project Engineer | Lead Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 87.8% Female, 12.2% | Male, 90.8% Female, 9.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.3% Asian, 12.3% White, 70.3% 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% |