What Does a Principal Software Engineer Do?

In this section, we compare the average Principal Software Engineer annual salary with that of a Senior Applications Engineer. Typically, Senior Applications Engineers earn a $26,402 lower salary than Principal Software Engineers earn annually.

While their salaries may differ, one common ground between Principal Software Engineers and Senior Applications Engineers are a few of the skills required in each craft. In both careers, employees bring forth skills like Software Development, Java, and Linux.

There are some key differences in responsibilities as well. For example, a Principal Software Engineer responsibilities require skills like "Python," "AWS," "GIT," and "Scrum." Meanwhile a typical Senior Applications Engineer has skills in areas such as "Procedures," "C #," "Hardware," and "SR." This difference in skills reveals how truly different these two careers really are.

Senior Applications Engineers really shine in the Insurance industry with an average salary of $112,812. Whereas Principal Software Engineers tend to make the most money in the Retail industry with an average salary of $142,441.

Senior Applications Engineers tend to reach lower levels of education than Principal Software Engineers. In fact, Senior Applications Engineers are 6.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.4% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.

Next up, we have the Senior Engineer profession to look over. This career brings along a lower average salary when compared to a Principal Software Engineer annual salary. In fact, Senior Engineers salary difference is $30,677 lower than the salary of Principal Software Engineers per year.

A similarity between the two careers of Principal Software Engineers and Senior Engineers are a few of the skills associated with both roles. We used resumes from both professions to find that both use skills like "Python," "Java," and "Linux. "

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, several resumes showed us that Principal Software Engineer responsibilities requires skills like "Software Development," "AWS," "Scrum," and "Database." But a Senior Engineer might use skills, such as, "Architecture," "C #," "Hardware," and "SR."

On average, Senior Engineers earn a lower salary than Principal Software Engineers. There are industries that support higher salaries in each profession respectively. Interestingly enough, Senior Engineers earn the most pay in the Professional industry with an average salary of $115,366. Whereas, Principal Software Engineers have higher paychecks in the Retail industry where they earn an average of $142,441.

On the topic of education, Senior Engineers earn lower levels of education than Principal Software Engineers. In general, they're 5.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.4% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Let's now take a look at the Software Architect profession. On average, these workers make lower salaries than Principal Software Engineers with a $20,577 difference per year.

By looking over several Principal Software Engineers and Software Architects resumes, we found that both roles utilize similar skills, such as "Software Development," "Python," and "Java." But beyond that the careers look very different.

There are many key differences between these two careers as shown by resumes from each profession. Some of those differences include the skills required to complete responsibilities within each role. As an example of this, a Principal Software Engineer is likely to be skilled in "Curiosity," "Http," "Hadoop," and "Configuration Management," while a typical Software Architect is skilled in "Architecture," "Cloud," "Saas," and "Design Patterns."

Additionally, Software Architects earn a higher salary in the Health Care industry compared to other industries. In this industry, they receive an average salary of $128,799. Additionally, Principal Software Engineers earn an average salary of $142,441 in the Retail industry.

Software Architects typically study at similar levels compared with Principal Software Engineers. For example, they're 0.9% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

The fourth career we look at typically earns lower pay than Principal Software Engineers. On average, Lead Engineers earn a difference of $47,031 lower per year.

According to resumes from both Principal Software Engineers and Lead Engineers, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "Python," "Java," and "Linux. "

Each job requires different skills like "Software Development," "AWS," "Scrum," and "Curiosity," which might show up on a Principal Software Engineer resume. Whereas Lead Engineer might include skills like "Architecture," "C #," "Hardware," and "Project Management."

Lead Engineers earn a higher salary in the Manufacturing industry with an average of $104,354. Whereas, Principal Software Engineers earn the highest salary in the Retail industry.

Lead Engineers reach lower levels of education when compared to Principal Software Engineers. The difference is that they're 6.5% more likely to earn a Master's Degree less, and 0.7% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.