Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between senior consultant engineers and senior principal engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a senior consultant engineer, becoming a senior principal engineer takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a senior principal engineer has an average salary of $130,642, which is higher than the $114,236 average annual salary of a senior consultant engineer.
The top three skills for a senior consultant engineer include java, C++ and C #. The most important skills for a senior principal engineer are python, architecture, and java.
| Senior Consultant Engineer | Senior Principal Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $114,236 | $130,642 |
| Hourly rate | $54.92 | $62.81 |
| Growth rate | 21% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 316,539 | 272,459 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 39 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 6 |
A senior consultant engineer is responsible for planning, designing, and developing infrastructure projects. They create designs and analyze the construction process to provide clients with excellent plans. They must comply with the governmental regulations for environmental and ecological problems. They also give clients surveys and analysis.
A senior principal engineer is responsible for leading engineering tasks within an organization and reports project updates to senior management. Senior principal engineers develop strategic methods and principles to improve the technical stability and efficiency of the company's systems, creating business proposals according to clients' specifications, and negotiating contracts with suppliers and other service providers. They also train new staff and identify innovations and business opportunities that would generate more revenue resources for the company.
Senior consultant engineers and senior principal engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Consultant Engineer | Senior Principal Engineer | |
| Average salary | $114,236 | $130,642 |
| Salary range | Between $84,000 And $154,000 | Between $93,000 And $182,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Nevada | California |
| Best paying company | MongoDB | Airbnb |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Professional |
There are a few differences between a senior consultant engineer and a senior principal engineer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Consultant Engineer | Senior Principal Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between senior consultant engineers' and senior principal engineers' demographics:
| Senior Consultant Engineer | Senior Principal Engineer | |
| Average age | 39 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 89.6% Female, 10.4% | Male, 88.2% Female, 11.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.6% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 8.4% Asian, 29.8% White, 52.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 17.2% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 5% |