Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between senior operations engineers and engineers 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 operations engineer, becoming an engineer takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a senior operations engineer has an average salary of $112,583, which is higher than the $92,077 average annual salary of an engineer.
The top three skills for a senior operations engineer include python, AWS and cloud. The most important skills for an engineer are python, cloud, and C++.
| Senior Operations Engineer | Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $112,583 | $92,077 |
| Hourly rate | $54.13 | $44.27 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 141,825 | 618,207 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.33 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Average age | 43 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 6 |
Senior operations engineers are engineering professionals who ensure that the operations of an organization are working properly and meet both factory and management specifications. These engineers are required to create maintenance procedures that are adaptable to the existing maintenance management software for the newly installed facilities and equipment. They must provide technical support to the organization's operations, such as project design, plant optimization, project management, and startup. Senior operations engineers must also implement effective process improvements so that they can increase productivity and reduce production costs.
Engineers are highly trained professionals who determine the feasibility of various projects, usually related to the construction industry. They are considered experts in mathematics and science, two disciplines that they need to use in designing and coming up with plans for projects. They should also be well-versed in different construction or industrial materials, and they ensure that appropriate materials are used for the project. They also ensure that the projects meet the requirements of the groups that hired them. They create spaces that would both address the needs of the end-users and the industry standards. They also ensure that the projects they make would stand the test of time.
Senior operations engineers and engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Operations Engineer | Engineer | |
| Average salary | $112,583 | $92,077 |
| Salary range | Between $82,000 And $153,000 | Between $65,000 And $130,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Huntsville, AL |
| Highest paying state | California | New Hampshire |
| Best paying company | Apple | Fort Bend County |
| Best paying industry | Start-up | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a senior operations engineer and an engineer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Operations Engineer | Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between senior operations engineers' and engineers' demographics:
| Senior Operations Engineer | Engineer | |
| Average age | 43 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 90.7% Female, 9.3% | Male, 86.3% Female, 13.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 12.2% Asian, 12.4% White, 61.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 3.3% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.1% Asian, 15.0% White, 67.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 5% |