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The differences between roller coaster engineers and principal 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 roller coaster engineer and a principal engineer. Additionally, a principal engineer has an average salary of $130,213, which is higher than the $87,487 average annual salary of a roller coaster engineer.
The top three skills for a roller coaster engineer include cost estimates, and . The most important skills for a principal engineer are java, architecture, and python.
| Roller Coaster Engineer | Principal Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $87,487 | $130,213 |
| Hourly rate | $42.06 | $62.60 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 73,502 | 312,683 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
Roller coaster engineers and principal engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Roller Coaster Engineer | Principal Engineer | |
| Average salary | $87,487 | $130,213 |
| Salary range | Between $46,000 And $165,000 | Between $95,000 And $177,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | San Mateo, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | California |
| Best paying company | - | Grubhub |
| Best paying industry | - | Telecommunication |
There are a few differences between a roller coaster engineer and a principal engineer in terms of educational background:
| Roller Coaster Engineer | Principal Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Business | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Pennsylvania State University | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between roller coaster engineers' and principal engineers' demographics:
| Roller Coaster Engineer | Principal Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 94.3% Female, 5.7% | Male, 92.6% Female, 7.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.2% Asian, 10.4% White, 72.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 16.6% White, 67.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |