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The differences between senior hardware engineers and hardware test engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a senior hardware engineer and a hardware test engineer. Additionally, a senior hardware engineer has an average salary of $116,383, which is higher than the $108,602 average annual salary of a hardware test engineer.
The top three skills for a senior hardware engineer include C++, RF and PCB. The most important skills for a hardware test engineer are python, test equipment, and C++.
| Senior Hardware Engineer | Hardware Test Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $116,383 | $108,602 |
| Hourly rate | $55.95 | $52.21 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 55,261 | 77,022 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A Senior Hardware Engineer is responsible for designing computer hardware. They define and coordinate corrective action changes, as well as provide technical support to team members.
A hardware test engineer is an IT professional who is responsible for designing, implementing, and executing plans to test computer hardware systems. Hardware test engineers must collaborate with design engineers and the program team to plan the execution of test plans through the entire product development cycle. They are required to develop technical specifications for testers and accepting test equipment from vendors. Hardware test engineers should also be highly knowledgeable in programming languages such as Python and C++.
Senior hardware engineers and hardware test engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Hardware Engineer | Hardware Test Engineer | |
| Average salary | $116,383 | $108,602 |
| Salary range | Between $89,000 And $151,000 | Between $82,000 And $142,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | Bellevue, WA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Washington |
| Best paying company | Netflix | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a senior hardware engineer and a hardware test engineer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Hardware Engineer | Hardware Test Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northeastern University | Northeastern University |
Here are the differences between senior hardware engineers' and hardware test engineers' demographics:
| Senior Hardware Engineer | Hardware Test Engineer | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 93.5% Female, 6.5% | Male, 91.7% Female, 8.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 2.9% Hispanic or Latino, 9.8% Asian, 29.9% White, 50.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 5.1% Unknown, 2.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.2% Asian, 30.6% White, 50.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 4% |