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The differences between senior principal engineers and senior managers 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 principal engineer and a senior manager. Additionally, a senior principal engineer has an average salary of $130,642, which is higher than the $118,906 average annual salary of a senior manager.
The top three skills for a senior principal engineer include python, architecture and java. The most important skills for a senior manager are analytics, project management, and portfolio.
| Senior Principal Engineer | Senior Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $130,642 | $118,906 |
| Hourly rate | $62.81 | $57.17 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 272,459 | 372,801 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 41 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A senior principal engineer is responsible for leading engineering tasks within an organization and reports project updates to senior management. Senior principal engineers develop strategic methods and principles to improve the technical stability and efficiency of the company's systems, creating business proposals according to clients' specifications, and negotiating contracts with suppliers and other service providers. They also train new staff and identify innovations and business opportunities that would generate more revenue resources for the company.
A senior manager is responsible for directing the overall efficiency of business operations. Senior managers monitor the performance of the staff, improve operational strategies, identify business opportunities, allocate budgets and resources, present reports to senior management, set goals to drive results on increasing the company's revenues and profitability. Senior managers must coordinate with various operations departments to maintain good feedback for the company, meeting client's expectations, and delivering the best results. They should have excellent communication and leadership skills to handle team members, as well as managing their needs and concerns.
Senior principal engineers and senior managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Principal Engineer | Senior Manager | |
| Average salary | $130,642 | $118,906 |
| Salary range | Between $93,000 And $182,000 | Between $86,000 And $163,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Airbnb | Cornerstone Research |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Professional |
There are a few differences between a senior principal engineer and a senior manager in terms of educational background:
| Senior Principal Engineer | Senior Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Business |
| Most common college | Michigan Technological University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between senior principal engineers' and senior managers' demographics:
| Senior Principal Engineer | Senior Manager | |
| Average age | 41 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 88.2% Female, 11.8% | Male, 67.5% Female, 32.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 17.2% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 6.1% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.9% Asian, 6.3% White, 67.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 10% |