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The differences between infrastructure engineers and principal 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 an infrastructure engineer and a principal systems engineer. Additionally, a principal systems engineer has an average salary of $133,208, which is higher than the $106,438 average annual salary of an infrastructure engineer.
The top three skills for an infrastructure engineer include python, cloud and linux. The most important skills for a principal systems engineer are systems engineering, DOD, and C++.
| Infrastructure Engineer | Principal Systems Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $106,438 | $133,208 |
| Hourly rate | $51.17 | $64.04 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 91,845 | 146,444 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
As an infrastructure engineer, they're responsible for designing, deploying, and maintaining the IT infrastructure using the newest technology and ensure all the systems within an organization function seamlessly. They ensure all the IT systems are updated to support the business to function effectively. It is also their job to maintain internet connections, cabling, virtualization platforms, and storage area networks. Moreover, they oversee the IT infrastructure engineer system administration middleware application servers, like Oracle Weblogic server, IBM WebSphere server, and automated workflow tools.
A Principal Systems Engineer supervises a group of other engineers in technical projects. They develop and lead systems engineering projects and efforts.
Infrastructure engineers and principal systems engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Infrastructure Engineer | Principal Systems Engineer | |
| Average salary | $106,438 | $133,208 |
| Salary range | Between $76,000 And $148,000 | Between $97,000 And $181,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Credit Karma | eBay |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Telecommunication |
There are a few differences between an infrastructure engineer and a principal systems engineer in terms of educational background:
| Infrastructure Engineer | Principal Systems Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Northeastern University |
Here are the differences between infrastructure engineers' and principal systems engineers' demographics:
| Infrastructure Engineer | Principal Systems Engineer | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 92.2% Female, 7.8% | Male, 89.7% Female, 10.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.3% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 12.0% Asian, 13.0% White, 61.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 8.3% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 12.1% Asian, 12.8% White, 61.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |