Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between seismic engineers and principal engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a seismic engineer, becoming a principal engineer takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a principal engineer has an average salary of $130,213, which is higher than the $88,120 average annual salary of a seismic engineer.
The top three skills for a seismic engineer include technical support, stress analysis and retrofit. The most important skills for a principal engineer are java, architecture, and python.
| Seismic Engineer | Principal Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $88,120 | $130,213 |
| Hourly rate | $42.37 | $62.60 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 8,242 | 312,683 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 43 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 6 |
Seismic engineers and principal engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Seismic Engineer | Principal Engineer | |
| Average salary | $88,120 | $130,213 |
| Salary range | Between $61,000 And $126,000 | Between $95,000 And $177,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Mateo, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Mexico | California |
| Best paying company | Halliburton | Grubhub |
| Best paying industry | Energy | Telecommunication |
There are a few differences between a seismic engineer and a principal engineer in terms of educational background:
| Seismic Engineer | Principal Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between seismic engineers' and principal engineers' demographics:
| Seismic Engineer | Principal Engineer | |
| Average age | 43 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 90.3% Female, 9.7% | Male, 92.6% Female, 7.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.5% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 8.6% Asian, 26.7% White, 56.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | 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% |