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The differences between principal technologists and chief technologists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-8 years to become both a principal technologist and a chief technologist. Additionally, a principal technologist has an average salary of $124,965, which is higher than the $105,294 average annual salary of a chief technologist.
The top three skills for a principal technologist include java, cloud and infrastructure. The most important skills for a chief technologist are patients, patient care, and infrastructure.
| Principal Technologist | Chief Technologist | |
| Yearly salary | $124,965 | $105,294 |
| Hourly rate | $60.08 | $50.62 |
| Growth rate | 16% | 16% |
| Number of jobs | 90,060 | 66,399 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 51% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 8 | 8 |
A principal technologist is responsible for developing and delivering innovative solutions and providing contributions technically to various projects. Your duties will include providing assistance in improving the chemical supply chain that will benefit key product units (KPU), managing and creating user accounts, directory access, and server permissions, and managing the in-house services related to the internet. In addition, you will train and educate customers on how to use certain software and hardware as requested and performing development and architecture for database, software, and infrastructure.
Chief technologists or chief technical officers deal with the technological needs of a company's research and development. They study the long and short-term effects of investments to help other organizations reach their individual technological goals. These technologists are required to have advanced knowledge in IT and analytical skills to excel in this position. They represent their company in academic, industrial, and government groups to publicize their organization and to collect valuable data for their research.
Principal technologists and chief technologists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Principal Technologist | Chief Technologist | |
| Average salary | $124,965 | $105,294 |
| Salary range | Between $95,000 And $163,000 | Between $70,000 And $156,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Oregon | California |
| Best paying company | Airbnb | Federal Deposit Insurance |
| Best paying industry | Telecommunication | - |
There are a few differences between a principal technologist and a chief technologist in terms of educational background:
| Principal Technologist | Chief Technologist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 51% |
| Most common major | Business | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Carnegie Mellon University | Carnegie Mellon University |
Here are the differences between principal technologists' and chief technologists' demographics:
| Principal Technologist | Chief Technologist | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 83.1% Female, 16.9% | Male, 77.7% Female, 22.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.7% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 10.0% Asian, 12.8% White, 65.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 6.6% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 10.0% Asian, 12.7% White, 65.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |