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The differences between marine engineers and software engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes More than 10 years to become a marine engineer, becoming a software engineer takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a marine engineer has an average salary of $101,152, which is higher than the $100,260 average annual salary of a software engineer.
The top three skills for a marine engineer include marine engineering, autocad and HVAC. The most important skills for a software engineer are java, python, and software development.
| Marine Engineer | Software Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $101,152 | $100,260 |
| Hourly rate | $48.63 | $48.20 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 11,675 | 339,938 |
| Job satisfaction | 3.33 | 3.5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Average age | 41 | 39 |
| Years of experience | - | 4 |
Marine engineers are licensed engineers who specialize in designing marine infrastructure. These marine infrastructure or vessels are usually naval ships, sailboats, cruise ships, tankers, or even submarines. Marine engineers draft plans for these vessels. They take into consideration the various sciences involved in building these ships. Marine engineers need to have a good grasp of physics, statistics, and other sciences that they need to craft a vessel. Marine engineers also create designs for controls and other mechanisms. They oversee the building process and ensure that the vessels are working properly.
A software engineer is a computer science professional who is responsible for the development of information systems, designing and building computer systems software and applications software. They often prefer to call themselves as a software developer or computer programmer. They have substantial knowledge of programming languages, software development, and computer operating systems, and other technologies. They use these to turn a plan into a final output. They can create a design, test, and develop software based on the needs of their clients.
Marine engineers and software engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Marine Engineer | Software Engineer | |
| Average salary | $101,152 | $100,260 |
| Salary range | Between $69,000 And $147,000 | Between $73,000 And $136,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Rafael, CA | San Bruno, CA |
| Highest paying state | Texas | California |
| Best paying company | Chevron | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Start-up |
There are a few differences between a marine engineer and a software engineer in terms of educational background:
| Marine Engineer | Software Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Most common major | Marine Engineering | Computer Science |
| Most common college | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between marine engineers' and software engineers' demographics:
| Marine Engineer | Software Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 91.5% Female, 8.5% | Male, 78.0% Female, 22.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.4% Unknown, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 7.5% Asian, 7.1% White, 72.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% | Black or African American, 4.4% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.1% Asian, 34.0% White, 48.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 8% |