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The differences between project management engineers and project lead 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 project management engineer and a project lead engineer. Additionally, a project lead engineer has an average salary of $106,946, which is higher than the $80,337 average annual salary of a project management engineer.
The top three skills for a project management engineer include project management, management system and HVAC. The most important skills for a project lead engineer are project management, renewable energy, and project execution.
| Project Management Engineer | Project Lead Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $80,337 | $106,946 |
| Hourly rate | $38.62 | $51.42 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 145,104 | 98,018 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A project management engineer oversees technical and engineering projects, ensuring operations adhere to standards and guidelines. They design and develop solutions to optimize the daily project operations, conduct regular assessments and inspections, create administrative plans, set objectives, establish timelines, and supervise the performance of the workforce, providing support as needed. Moreover, as a project management engineer, it is essential to lead and encourage staff to reach goals, all while implementing safety policies and regulations for a safe and efficient workflow.
Project lead engineers are engineering professionals who are responsible for leading other professionals in completing a particular project. These engineers must develop a project management framework to be implemented throughout the organization based on the inputs from internal stakeholders and team members. They are required to train junior team members so that they can provide proper technical support functions. Project lead engineers must also prepare and review cost estimates for a variety of projects during bidding, construction, and post-construction phases.
Project management engineers and project lead engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Project Management Engineer | Project Lead Engineer | |
| Average salary | $80,337 | $106,946 |
| Salary range | Between $55,000 And $116,000 | Between $78,000 And $146,000 |
| Highest paying City | Belmont, CA | Cupertino, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | PayPal | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a project management engineer and a project lead engineer in terms of educational background:
| Project Management Engineer | Project Lead Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between project management engineers' and project lead engineers' demographics:
| Project Management Engineer | Project Lead Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 81.4% Female, 18.6% | Male, 86.8% Female, 13.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.7% Asian, 12.4% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 15.2% White, 66.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 4% |