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The differences between senior engineers and senior executives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a senior engineer, becoming a senior executive takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a senior engineer has an average salary of $108,743, which is higher than the $104,507 average annual salary of a senior executive.
The top three skills for a senior engineer include java, python and architecture. The most important skills for a senior executive are customer service, project management, and SR.
| Senior Engineer | Senior Executive | |
| Yearly salary | $108,743 | $104,507 |
| Hourly rate | $52.28 | $50.24 |
| Growth rate | 2% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 343,200 | 74,894 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Average age | 41 | 49 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 4 |
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.
A senior executive is responsible for supporting the chief technology officer and other higher officials on implementing critical corporate decisions, especially on identifying business opportunities to extend business partnership scopes and drive more revenue resources, supporting the company's financial stability. Senior executives oversee departmental operations across the company, ensuring production efficiency and high-quality output deliverables. They may also handle operational budgets and allocate adequate resources to each department's head. A senior executive attends meetings and conferences with other executives, sharing updates with stakeholders, and strategizing project management processes.
Senior engineers and senior executives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Engineer | Senior Executive | |
| Average salary | $108,743 | $104,507 |
| Salary range | Between $82,000 And $144,000 | Between $63,000 And $172,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Mateo, CA | Hartford, CT |
| Highest paying state | California | Connecticut |
| Best paying company | Roku | Intuit |
| Best paying industry | Start-up | Pharmaceutical |
There are a few differences between a senior engineer and a senior executive in terms of educational background:
| Senior Engineer | Senior Executive | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Business |
| Most common college | Michigan Technological University | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between senior engineers' and senior executives' demographics:
| Senior Engineer | Senior Executive | |
| Average age | 41 | 49 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 89.1% Female, 10.9% | Male, 57.4% Female, 42.6% |
| 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, 7.6% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 11.2% Asian, 5.0% White, 71.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 10% |