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The differences between professional services engineers and systems engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a professional services engineer, becoming a systems engineer takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a professional services engineer has an average salary of $98,091, which is higher than the $82,834 average annual salary of a systems engineer.
The top three skills for a professional services engineer include customer service, professional services and java. The most important skills for a systems engineer are python, linux, and C++.
| Professional Services Engineer | Systems Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $98,091 | $82,834 |
| Hourly rate | $47.16 | $39.82 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 114,048 | 145,936 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Average age | 44 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 2 |
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.
Systems engineers are responsible for creating and overseeing systems related to the overall operations of the organization. They are in charge of assessing the organization's needs in terms of systems and creating plans to address these needs. These systems are usually related to the production or manufacturing of company products. Systems engineers create end-to-end processes that ensure efficiency and effectiveness. They make sure that the processes they put in place adhere to safety and security policies and guidelines. They also do routine checks and continuously find ways to further improve production and other systems.
Professional services engineers and systems engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Professional Services Engineer | Systems Engineer | |
| Average salary | $98,091 | $82,834 |
| Salary range | Between $64,000 And $149,000 | Between $62,000 And $109,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Virginia | California |
| Best paying company | Gracenote | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a professional services engineer and a systems engineer in terms of educational background:
| Professional Services Engineer | Systems Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Most common major | Business | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Stanford University | California State University - Long Beach |
Here are the differences between professional services engineers' and systems engineers' demographics:
| Professional Services Engineer | Systems Engineer | |
| Average age | 44 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 57.9% Female, 42.1% | Male, 86.1% Female, 13.9% |
| 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, 4.7% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 8.4% Asian, 29.7% White, 52.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 8% |