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The differences between professional services engineers and application engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a professional services engineer and an application engineer. Additionally, a professional services engineer has an average salary of $98,091, which is higher than the $92,921 average annual salary of an application engineer.
The top three skills for a professional services engineer include customer service, professional services and java. The most important skills for an application engineer are technical support, java, and C++.
| Professional Services Engineer | Application Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $98,091 | $92,921 |
| Hourly rate | $47.16 | $44.67 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 114,048 | 111,338 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
Professional Services Engineers are employees who represent their company in their client's work environment. They are usually software engineers or any other information technology-related engineers. They are expected to be familiar with company's products. Professional Services Engineers act as the bridge between the company and the client. They are usually assigned to be on-site at the client's office to act as the technical representative of the company. As such, they do the installing, setting up, managing, troubleshooting, maintaining, and repairing the company's software for the client. They may also help out in product training and maximizing the user experience.
An application engineer is responsible for creating and re-designing system applications based on clients' specifications and sales demands. Application engineers run diagnostic tests on software programs, identify areas of improvement, install necessary updates, upgrade optimization, revise system codes, and provide technical support for customers' needs. They also generate ideas and locate other business opportunities by analyzing current trends in the technology market that would help build revenues and increase profitability for the company. An application engineer must have a strong command of programming languages, software application processes, and general technology disciplines.
Professional services engineers and application engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Professional Services Engineer | Application Engineer | |
| Average salary | $98,091 | $92,921 |
| Salary range | Between $64,000 And $149,000 | Between $69,000 And $125,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Redwood City, CA |
| Highest paying state | Virginia | California |
| Best paying company | Gracenote | Morgan Lewis |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a professional services engineer and an application engineer in terms of educational background:
| Professional Services Engineer | Application Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Most common major | Business | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Georgia Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between professional services engineers' and application engineers' demographics:
| Professional Services Engineer | Application Engineer | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 57.9% Female, 42.1% | Male, 87.4% Female, 12.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 1.7% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 8.0% Asian, 5.8% White, 78.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 1.4% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 6.7% Asian, 11.5% White, 74.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |