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Principal environmental scientist vs environmental engineer

The differences between principal environmental scientists and environmental engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a principal environmental scientist, becoming an environmental engineer takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a principal environmental scientist has an average salary of $98,556, which is higher than the $75,718 average annual salary of an environmental engineer.

The top three skills for a principal environmental scientist include environmental services, project management and environmental compliance. The most important skills for an environmental engineer are environmental compliance, project management, and OSHA.

Principal environmental scientist vs environmental engineer overview

Principal Environmental ScientistEnvironmental Engineer
Yearly salary$98,556$75,718
Hourly rate$47.38$36.40
Growth rate5%4%
Number of jobs92,45024,787
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 65%Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Average age3943
Years of experience612

Principal environmental scientist vs environmental engineer salary

Principal environmental scientists and environmental engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Principal Environmental ScientistEnvironmental Engineer
Average salary$98,556$75,718
Salary rangeBetween $63,000 And $152,000Between $58,000 And $98,000
Highest paying City-San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state-Louisiana
Best paying company-Google
Best paying industry-Energy

Differences between principal environmental scientist and environmental engineer education

There are a few differences between a principal environmental scientist and an environmental engineer in terms of educational background:

Principal Environmental ScientistEnvironmental Engineer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 65%Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Most common majorEnvironmental ScienceCivil Engineering
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of California, Berkeley

Principal environmental scientist vs environmental engineer demographics

Here are the differences between principal environmental scientists' and environmental engineers' demographics:

Principal Environmental ScientistEnvironmental Engineer
Average age3943
Gender ratioMale, 87.7% Female, 12.3%Male, 70.5% Female, 29.5%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 6.2% Asian, 5.0% White, 81.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%Black or African American, 3.5% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 10.2% Asian, 12.9% White, 69.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage16%13%

Differences between principal environmental scientist and environmental engineer duties and responsibilities

Principal environmental scientist example responsibilities.

  • Develop and manage company EHS compliance processes in accordance with current and upcoming regulatory mandates.
  • Perform a variety of regular cleaning activities to effectively and efficiently maintain an acceptable level of cleanliness and improve aesthetic environment.
  • Perform environmental and geotechnical exploratory boring field logging and reporting.

Environmental engineer example responsibilities.

  • Manage and conduct various environmental engineering projects at DOD facilities.
  • Create the 3D environment assets in Maya, texture in Photoshop.
  • Prepare water quality reports by collecting, analyzing and summarizing data according to EPA regulations.
  • Develop and implement a configuration management program for company documents require by both OSHA and EPA risk assessment regulations.
  • Maintain HazWoper certification and are a member of the company spill team.
  • Perform vendor audits for ISO 14000 and environmental company policies to insure contract compliance.
  • Show more

Principal environmental scientist vs environmental engineer skills

Common principal environmental scientist skills
  • Environmental Services, 55%
  • Project Management, 8%
  • Environmental Compliance, 7%
  • EPA, 7%
  • Remote Sensing, 6%
  • Data Analysis, 6%
Common environmental engineer skills
  • Environmental Compliance, 6%
  • Project Management, 6%
  • OSHA, 5%
  • Autocad, 5%
  • HAZWOPER, 5%
  • Environmental Regulations, 4%

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