Contractor-test engineer vs engineer

The differences between contractor-test engineers and 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 contractor-test engineer, becoming an engineer takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, an engineer has an average salary of $92,077, which is higher than the $77,879 average annual salary of a contractor-test engineer.

The top three skills for a contractor-test engineer include C++, test cases and troubleshoot. The most important skills for an engineer are python, cloud, and C++.

Contractor-test engineer vs engineer overview

	Contractor-Test Engineer	Engineer
Yearly salary	$77,879	$92,077
Hourly rate	$37.44	$44.27
Growth rate	5%	2%
Number of jobs	46,172	618,207
Job satisfaction	-	4.33
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Average age	44	41
Years of experience	4	6

Contractor-test engineer vs engineer salary

Contractor-test engineers and engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Contractor-Test Engineer	Engineer
Average salary	$77,879	$92,077
Salary range	Between $60,000 And $99,000	Between $65,000 And $130,000
Highest paying City	-	Huntsville, AL
Highest paying state	-	New Hampshire
Best paying company	-	Fort Bend County
Best paying industry	-	Automotive

Differences between contractor-test engineer and engineer education

There are a few differences between a contractor-test engineer and an engineer in terms of educational background:

	Contractor-Test Engineer	Engineer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Most common major	Electrical Engineering	Mechanical Engineering
Most common college	California State University - Long Beach	Michigan Technological University

Contractor-test engineer vs engineer demographics

Here are the differences between contractor-test engineers' and engineers' demographics:

	Contractor-Test Engineer	Engineer
Average age	44	41
Gender ratio	Male, 82.2% Female, 17.8%	Male, 86.3% Female, 13.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 12.0% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 3.3% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.1% Asian, 15.0% White, 67.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage	11%	5%

Differences between contractor-test engineer and engineer duties and responsibilities

Contractor-test engineer example responsibilities.

Develop Perl scripts to automate test program cleanup tasks.
Create Perl scripting tool to automate substitution of strings in docx files.
Manage projects including for entire aircraft electrical distribution with respect to EMC requirements and testing.
Develop software tools and test software routines for WiBro/Mobil WiMAX RF measurements, instrument control, and device control.
Install new hardware, used Linux UI commands and debugging tools, run diagnostics, review activity and error logs.
Modify and write UNIX and SQL scripts.

Engineer example responsibilities.

Manage startup, trouble shooting and testing of PLC control equipment.
Lead project team to design and FDA validate 10-up extreme accuracy vial dosing system and CIP/SIP automate cleaning equipment.
Automate the creation of a WebLogic Admin and manage server deployment scheme within an installer for secure application deployment.
Install and test PLC in client own equipment on site - solve some logical and hardware issues to accomplish goal
Implement and manage continuous delivery systems and methodologies on AWS.
Manage Terraform and refactore from monolithic to application specific components.

Contractor-test engineer vs engineer skills

Common contractor-test engineer skills

C++, 13%
Test Cases, 8%
Troubleshoot, 8%
Python, 7%
QA, 5%
Test Data, 4%

Common engineer skills

Python, 8%
Cloud, 6%
C++, 5%
C #, 5%
AWS, 5%
Java, 4%