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The differences between senior lead systems engineers and managers, systems engineering can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a senior lead systems engineer, becoming a manager, systems engineering takes usually requires 6-8 years. Additionally, a manager, systems engineering has an average salary of $130,127, which is higher than the $114,766 average annual salary of a senior lead systems engineer.
The top three skills for a senior lead systems engineer include java, systems engineering and architecture. The most important skills for a manager, systems engineering are systems engineering, architecture, and DOD.
| Senior Lead Systems Engineer | Manager, Systems Engineering | |
| Yearly salary | $114,766 | $130,127 |
| Hourly rate | $55.18 | $62.56 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 16% |
| Number of jobs | 251,239 | 174,962 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Average age | 43 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 8 |
A senior lead systems engineer specializes in designing and developing systems for different industries. Besides engineering systems, they lead the efforts put into completing various projects and programs. Their duties usually include spearheading the research activities, establishing goals and guidelines, setting timelines, selecting resources, delegating responsibilities, and monitoring operations from planning to production, addressing issues and concerns to solve them promptly and efficiently. Additionally, as a senior lead systems engineer, they must lead and empower teams while implementing safety policies and industry standards.
A systems engineering manager is responsible for monitoring the efficiency of the company's technology systems and network infrastructure. System engineering managers inspect the output deliverables of computer systems, identifying process improvement techniques to improve optimal performance and maintain high-quality results. They handle the department's budget and allocate adequate resources to support project management operations and requirements. A systems engineering manager must have excellent knowledge of the technology industry, handling technical complexities, and configuring system management tools.
Senior lead systems engineers and managers, systems engineering have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Lead Systems Engineer | Manager, Systems Engineering | |
| Average salary | $114,766 | $130,127 |
| Salary range | Between $86,000 And $151,000 | Between $96,000 And $176,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Apple | Pure Storage |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a senior lead systems engineer and a manager, systems engineering in terms of educational background:
| Senior Lead Systems Engineer | Manager, Systems Engineering | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | Carnegie Mellon University |
Here are the differences between senior lead systems engineers' and managers, systems engineering' demographics:
| Senior Lead Systems Engineer | Manager, Systems Engineering | |
| Average age | 43 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 86.2% Female, 13.8% | Male, 87.8% Female, 12.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.1% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.8% Asian, 14.1% White, 60.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 6.5% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 9.8% Asian, 12.7% White, 65.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 11% |