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The differences between senior design specialists and senior 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 senior design specialist and a senior principal engineer. Additionally, a senior principal engineer has an average salary of $130,642, which is higher than the $96,923 average annual salary of a senior design specialist.
The top three skills for a senior design specialist include sketch, SR and design solutions. The most important skills for a senior principal engineer are python, architecture, and java.
| Senior Design Specialist | Senior Principal Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $96,923 | $130,642 |
| Hourly rate | $46.60 | $62.81 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 45,603 | 272,459 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A senior design specialist's main responsibility is managing design projects and delivering them within the deadlines. They have to also look after the junior designers and ensure that the quality of designs meets company standards.
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 design specialists and senior principal engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Design Specialist | Senior Principal Engineer | |
| Average salary | $96,923 | $130,642 |
| Salary range | Between $71,000 And $131,000 | Between $93,000 And $182,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | McKinsey & Company Inc | Airbnb |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | Professional |
There are a few differences between a senior design specialist and a senior principal engineer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Design Specialist | Senior Principal Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Drafting And Design | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Carnegie Mellon University | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between senior design specialists' and senior principal engineers' demographics:
| Senior Design Specialist | Senior Principal Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 74.9% Female, 25.1% | Male, 88.2% Female, 11.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.1% 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, 7.9% Asian, 17.2% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |