Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between principal test engineers and principal software 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 test engineer and a principal software engineer. Additionally, a principal software engineer has an average salary of $134,230, which is higher than the $116,493 average annual salary of a principal test engineer.
The top three skills for a principal test engineer include python, C++ and java. The most important skills for a principal software engineer are java, python, and software development.
| Principal Test Engineer | Principal Software Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $116,493 | $134,230 |
| Hourly rate | $56.01 | $64.53 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 96,539 | 345,893 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Average age | 44 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
Principal Test Engineers test automation tools and frameworks like Selenium, Appium, and Ranorex. They make sure that the software their companies offer is safe and reliable for consumer use. Being a principal test engineer requires testing to influence better software design, promoting good engineering practice, security, testability, scalability, drafting bug prevention strategies, and reliability. They are responsible for defining test goals, preparing and executing system-level functional tests, providing new project forecasts based on the provided information, and improving the current test solutions by reducing the test time, repeat tests, and yield analysis.
A Principal Software Engineer is responsible for the technical aspects of an organization's projects. They diagnose, document, and troubleshoot systems to resolve problems identified through testing, as well as implement strategies to improve integration and efficiency.
Principal test engineers and principal software engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Principal Test Engineer | Principal Software Engineer | |
| Average salary | $116,493 | $134,230 |
| Salary range | Between $84,000 And $159,000 | Between $98,000 And $182,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | California | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Microsoft | |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Retail |
There are a few differences between a principal test engineer and a principal software engineer in terms of educational background:
| Principal Test Engineer | Principal Software Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Computer Science |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | California State University - Long Beach |
Here are the differences between principal test engineers' and principal software engineers' demographics:
| Principal Test Engineer | Principal Software Engineer | |
| Average age | 44 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 89.8% Female, 10.2% | Male, 87.5% Female, 12.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 12.0% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 4.4% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.2% Asian, 29.9% White, 52.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 8% |