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The differences between senior reliability engineers and senior engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a senior reliability engineer, becoming a senior engineer takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a senior reliability engineer has an average salary of $121,562, which is higher than the $108,743 average annual salary of a senior engineer.
The top three skills for a senior reliability engineer include jenkins, azure and ruby. The most important skills for a senior engineer are java, python, and architecture.
| Senior Reliability Engineer | Senior Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $121,562 | $108,743 |
| Hourly rate | $58.44 | $52.28 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 38,101 | 343,200 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 6 |
Senior reliability engineers are responsible for identifying and managing asset reliability risks that can cause a stoppage and delay of plant or business operations. They are responsible for monitoring production losses and high-maintenance cost assets and finding ways to reduce them. Other duties typically include working closely with project engineers to ensure the reliability of new and existing installations, participating in the final inspection of new installations, and providing input to plans aimed at mitigating and managing risks.
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.
Senior reliability engineers and senior engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Reliability Engineer | Senior Engineer | |
| Average salary | $121,562 | $108,743 |
| Salary range | Between $90,000 And $163,000 | Between $82,000 And $144,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Mateo, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Roku | |
| Best paying industry | Internet | Start-up |
There are a few differences between a senior reliability engineer and a senior engineer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Reliability Engineer | Senior Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between senior reliability engineers' and senior engineers' demographics:
| Senior Reliability Engineer | Senior Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 87.7% Female, 12.3% | Male, 89.1% Female, 10.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.5% Asian, 15.5% White, 65.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | 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% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 5% |