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The differences between principal project engineers and quality engineers 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 project engineer and a quality engineer. Additionally, a principal project engineer has an average salary of $122,090, which is higher than the $79,672 average annual salary of a quality engineer.
The top three skills for a principal project engineer include project management, program management and DOD. The most important skills for a quality engineer are corrective action, continuous improvement, and ISO.
| Principal Project Engineer | Quality Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $122,090 | $79,672 |
| Hourly rate | $58.70 | $38.30 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 95,718 | 96,838 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A principal project engineer spearheads and oversees engineering projects, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. It is their duty to set guidelines and objectives, provide technical and engineering support to various teams, gather and analyze data, identify the strengths and weaknesses of existing procedures, implement solutions against problem areas, and conducting inspections to ensure that all processes adhere to the company's quality standards and safety regulations, including the state and industry laws. Moreover, as a principal project engineer, it is essential to monitor the progress of all operations, training junior engineers when necessary.
A quality engineer's responsibilities include ensuring that the manufacturing processes are efficient and accurate, documenting findings that would raise concerns, conducting quality tests while observing parameters, and implementing changes as necessary to meet the highest quality standards. Quality engineers need to have excellent problem-solving and observation skills to detect any irregularities and possible malfunctions. They also must be able to communicate effectively with the clients for feedbacks and corrective adjustments, address complaints, and immediately resolve any inconsistencies made.
Principal project engineers and quality engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Principal Project Engineer | Quality Engineer | |
| Average salary | $122,090 | $79,672 |
| Salary range | Between $74,000 And $200,000 | Between $61,000 And $103,000 |
| Highest paying City | Houston, TX | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Texas | Washington |
| Best paying company | Alphanumeric | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Technology |
There are a few differences between a principal project engineer and a quality engineer in terms of educational background:
| Principal Project Engineer | Quality Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between principal project engineers' and quality engineers' demographics:
| Principal Project Engineer | Quality Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 88.7% Female, 11.3% | Male, 78.2% Female, 21.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.5% Asian, 15.5% White, 65.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 4.7% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 11.5% Asian, 13.9% White, 65.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 4% |