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The differences between principals, architectural firms and architects can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a principal, architectural firm and an architect. Additionally, a principal, architectural firm has an average salary of $120,913, which is higher than the $86,635 average annual salary of an architect.
The top three skills for a principal, architectural firm include business development, enterprise architecture and as-built drawings. The most important skills for an architect are cloud, java, and infrastructure.
| Principal, Architectural Firm | Architect | |
| Yearly salary | $120,913 | $86,635 |
| Hourly rate | $58.13 | $41.65 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 42,091 | 94,621 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 3 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
Principals, architectural firms and architects have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Principal, Architectural Firm | Architect | |
| Average salary | $120,913 | $86,635 |
| Salary range | Between $73,000 And $197,000 | Between $54,000 And $137,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | Alaska |
| Best paying company | - | Meta |
| Best paying industry | - | Technology |
There are a few differences between a principal, architectural firm and an architect in terms of educational background:
| Principal, Architectural Firm | Architect | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Architecture | Architecture |
| Most common college | University of Southern California | Cornell University |
Here are the differences between principals, architectural firms' and architects' demographics:
| Principal, Architectural Firm | Architect | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 85.8% Female, 14.2% | Male, 76.7% Female, 23.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 2.3% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 12.0% Asian, 16.3% White, 65.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 2.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 11.8% Asian, 16.0% White, 65.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 15% | 15% |