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The differences between infrastructure systems 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 systems engineer and a principal systems engineer. Additionally, a principal systems engineer has an average salary of $133,208, which is higher than the $110,556 average annual salary of an infrastructure systems engineer.
The top three skills for an infrastructure systems engineer include cloud, linux and troubleshoot. The most important skills for a principal systems engineer are systems engineering, DOD, and C++.
| Infrastructure Systems Engineer | Principal Systems Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $110,556 | $133,208 |
| Hourly rate | $53.15 | $64.04 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 133,481 | 146,444 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Infrastructure systems engineers are information technology (IT) professionals who design, coordinate, and maintain the IT infrastructure using the latest technology to ensure all the IT systems of an organization are functioning efficiently. These engineers are required to improve collaboration and work sharing by implementing a cloud-backed file system. They must train and mentor other employees about the system functionality and perform troubleshoot when issues arise in the system. Infrastructure systems engineers must also eliminate interruptions for wireless users during upgrades by installing disaster recovery servers.
A Principal Systems Engineer supervises a group of other engineers in technical projects. They develop and lead systems engineering projects and efforts.
Infrastructure systems engineers and principal systems engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Infrastructure Systems Engineer | Principal Systems Engineer | |
| Average salary | $110,556 | $133,208 |
| Salary range | Between $82,000 And $147,000 | Between $97,000 And $181,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | California |
| Best paying company | The Walt Disney Company | eBay |
| Best paying industry | Insurance | Telecommunication |
There are a few differences between an infrastructure systems engineer and a principal systems engineer in terms of educational background:
| Infrastructure Systems Engineer | Principal Systems Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | 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 systems engineers' and principal systems engineers' demographics:
| Infrastructure Systems Engineer | Principal Systems Engineer | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 90.0% Female, 10.0% | Male, 89.7% Female, 10.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.0% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.7% Asian, 13.9% White, 61.1% 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% |