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The differences between senior engineers and project managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a senior engineer has an average salary of $108,743, which is higher than the $91,578 average annual salary of a project manager.
The top three skills for a senior engineer include java, python and architecture. The most important skills for a project manager are project management, project scope, and customer service.
| Senior Engineer | Project Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $108,743 | $91,578 |
| Hourly rate | $52.28 | $44.03 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 343,200 | 167,116 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.17 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 41 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 6 | - |
A senior engineer is responsible for overseeing all operations within a designated area. With years of experience and expertise, a senior engineer may take charge of establishing goals, deadlines, and budgets for a particular project. They must devise and implement strategies that would improve the quality of workflow and deliver significant results. Furthermore, a senior manager must also supervise a team of skilled engineers, leading them in the joint effort to reach the company's vision and mission, all while adhering to the safety standards and regulations.
Project managers oversee a specific project related to the organization's business. They manage the whole project from inception to evaluation. They initiate planning with involved departments, follow-through on the plans, ensure smooth execution of the plans, and evaluate the project for further improvements should these be needed. In line with this, project managers also ensure that the project is cost-efficient and well within the budget. They also manage the different work teams involved in the project and ensure that things are running smoothly on this aspect as well.
Senior engineers and project managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Engineer | Project Manager | |
| Average salary | $108,743 | $91,578 |
| Salary range | Between $82,000 And $144,000 | Between $64,000 And $129,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Mateo, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Roku | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Start-up | Technology |
There are a few differences between a senior engineer and a project manager in terms of educational background:
| Senior Engineer | Project Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Business |
| Most common college | Michigan Technological University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between senior engineers' and project managers' demographics:
| Senior Engineer | Project Manager | |
| Average age | 41 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 89.1% Female, 10.9% | Male, 68.9% Female, 31.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 17.1% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 7.7% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.9% Asian, 9.0% White, 65.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 10% |