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The differences between lead engineers and specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a lead engineer, becoming a specialist takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a lead engineer has an average salary of $84,927, which is higher than the $58,013 average annual salary of a specialist.
The top three skills for a lead engineer include java, python and architecture. The most important skills for a specialist are patients, customer service, and work ethic.
| Lead Engineer | Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $84,927 | $58,013 |
| Hourly rate | $40.83 | $27.89 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 301,777 | 358,433 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 41 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 2 |
A lead engineer's duties vary on their line of work or industry of employment. Typically, their responsibilities will revolve around overseeing the progress of operations and performance of the workforce, ensuring that everything is running smoothly. They are also responsible for addressing issues and concerns, assessing risks, monitoring the budget, coordinating with clients and architects, and even training workers. Furthermore, as a lead engineer, it is crucial to conduct regular inspections to ensure the quality of work and maintain a safe environment for all workers.
Specialists are employees who are responsible for specific tasks or activities in the department they are assigned to. The actions or tasks they work on are related to their educational background or work experiences. They are usually highly skilled in specializations related to the work they are assigned to. Specialists are also highly trained on the competencies that are required of their specialty. As such, they are focused on the skills and competencies that are needed to enhance their experience in their specific field further.
Lead engineers and specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Lead Engineer | Specialist | |
| Average salary | $84,927 | $58,013 |
| Salary range | Between $60,000 And $120,000 | Between $32,000 And $104,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Jersey City, NJ |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Meta | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | - |
There are a few differences between a lead engineer and a specialist in terms of educational background:
| Lead Engineer | Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Business |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between lead engineers' and specialists' demographics:
| Lead Engineer | Specialist | |
| Average age | 41 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 90.8% Female, 9.2% | Male, 47.5% Female, 52.5% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 10.5% White, 55.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 11% |