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The differences between lead application engineers and operations 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 lead application engineer and an operations engineer. Additionally, a lead application engineer has an average salary of $111,059, which is higher than the $91,522 average annual salary of an operations engineer.
The top three skills for a lead application engineer include java, C++ and infrastructure. The most important skills for an operations engineer are python, cloud, and AWS.
| Lead Application Engineer | Operations Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $111,059 | $91,522 |
| Hourly rate | $53.39 | $44.00 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 186,619 | 155,188 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
An Application Engineers is responsible for monitoring and ensuring that all the application and software of a client is functioning well. They are the one who develops new engineering software and hardware that leads to innovation and technology. This person has practical communication skills since they need to interact with clients to determine the scope of the project and create a reasonable solution. An Application Engineer possesses skills in a wide range of technical concerns regarding software hardware. Typically, they can be seen different departments like manufacturing, marketing as well as customer services.
An operations engineer is an individual who is responsible for ensuring that the operations of a company are working properly in industries such as manufacturing or shipping. Operations engineers are required to handle repairs or upgrades to the company's machinery and coordinate with department heads to assist in fine-tuning their operations system. When they have upgraded their system, operations engineers should conduct training with managers as well as employees and other workers. They are also required to examine machinery for defects and communicate maintenance schedules with department heads.
Lead application engineers and operations engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Lead Application Engineer | Operations Engineer | |
| Average salary | $111,059 | $91,522 |
| Salary range | Between $85,000 And $144,000 | Between $63,000 And $132,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Virginia | California |
| Best paying company | Lyft | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Technology |
There are a few differences between a lead application engineer and an operations engineer in terms of educational background:
| Lead Application Engineer | Operations Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between lead application engineers' and operations engineers' demographics:
| Lead Application Engineer | Operations Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 87.8% Female, 12.2% | Male, 89.9% Female, 10.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 16.5% White, 68.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.2% Asian, 10.6% White, 72.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |