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The differences between lead systems engineers and solutions engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a lead systems engineer, becoming a solutions engineer takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a lead systems engineer has an average salary of $119,705, which is higher than the $95,482 average annual salary of a solutions engineer.
The top three skills for a lead systems engineer include systems engineering, architecture and infrastructure. The most important skills for a solutions engineer are cloud, pre sales, and java.
| Lead Systems Engineer | Solutions Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $119,705 | $95,482 |
| Hourly rate | $57.55 | $45.90 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 186,392 | 123,287 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 43 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 6 |
A lead systems engineer is responsible for maintaining the safety and security of the systems infrastructure and improving the stability of the operating systems to support business operations. Lead systems engineers install and upgrade software applications and ensure that the technical strategies meet the quality standards and business requirements. They also enhance the performance of the existing systems, configuring features for optimization. A lead systems engineer must have excellent communication and technical skills, especially in supporting the end-users with technical failures and identifying accurate resolutions.
A solutions engineer is an individual who assists customers in identifying their computer software needs and generates customized business software solutions for them. Solutions engineers collaborate with other department engineers to create practical demonstrations of proposed solutions and showcase them to the other members of the team. They are required to test the installed software and fix programming bugs that create errors with the system. Solutions engineers also maintain customer relations by providing post-installation follow-ups.
Lead systems engineers and solutions engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Lead Systems Engineer | Solutions Engineer | |
| Average salary | $119,705 | $95,482 |
| Salary range | Between $90,000 And $158,000 | Between $68,000 And $134,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | ByteDance |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | Start-up |
There are a few differences between a lead systems engineer and a solutions engineer in terms of educational background:
| Lead Systems Engineer | Solutions Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Computer Science |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between lead systems engineers' and solutions engineers' demographics:
| Lead Systems Engineer | Solutions Engineer | |
| Average age | 43 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 88.1% Female, 11.9% | Male, 85.1% Female, 14.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.7% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.4% Asian, 12.5% White, 61.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 1.4% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 6.9% Asian, 10.8% White, 74.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 7% |