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The differences between senior engineers and senior staff 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 engineer and a senior staff engineer. Additionally, a senior staff engineer has an average salary of $136,031, which is higher than the $108,743 average annual salary of a senior engineer.
The top three skills for a senior engineer include java, python and architecture. The most important skills for a senior staff engineer are python, java, and architecture.
| Senior Engineer | Senior Staff Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $108,743 | $136,031 |
| Hourly rate | $52.28 | $65.40 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 343,200 | 239,752 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 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.
A senior staff engineer is responsible for supervising a team of engineers, chemists, software developers, or molecular biologists. His/Her or her responsibilities include generating Structured Query Language (SQL) performance audit checklist template, creating SQL data query routines and functions for data extraction, and working directly with stakeholders. The job requires strong mechanical, listening, and mathematical skills and proficiency in Python programming language and computer architecture and hardware. The education requirements for the job include a bachelor's or master's degree in electrical engineering, business, mechanical engineering, or a related field.
Senior engineers and senior staff engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Engineer | Senior Staff Engineer | |
| Average salary | $108,743 | $136,031 |
| Salary range | Between $82,000 And $144,000 | Between $95,000 And $194,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Mateo, CA | San Mateo, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Roku | Airbnb |
| Best paying industry | Start-up | Telecommunication |
There are a few differences between a senior engineer and a senior staff engineer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Engineer | Senior Staff Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Michigan Technological University | California State Polytechnic University, Pomona |
Here are the differences between senior engineers' and senior staff engineers' demographics:
| Senior Engineer | Senior Staff Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 89.1% Female, 10.9% | Male, 78.4% Female, 21.6% |
| 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, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 16.8% White, 67.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |