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The differences between senior service engineers and principal engineers 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 service engineer and a principal engineer. Additionally, a principal engineer has an average salary of $130,213, which is higher than the $113,551 average annual salary of a senior service engineer.
The top three skills for a senior service engineer include java, cloud and infrastructure. The most important skills for a principal engineer are java, architecture, and python.
| Senior Service Engineer | Principal Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $113,551 | $130,213 |
| Hourly rate | $54.59 | $62.60 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 115,298 | 312,683 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
Typically working at manufacturing facilities, a senior service engineer focuses on providing after-sales maintenance and technical solutions to products, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. Their responsibilities usually include identifying and understanding the needs of various projects, gathering and analyzing customer feedback, reviewing product specifications, and resolving issues and concerns promptly and efficiently. Moreover, as a senior service engineer, it is essential to lead and encourage junior engineers to reach goals while promoting and implementing the company's policies and regulations.
A principal engineer is responsible for monitoring the overall design phase of the construction process, including coordinating with the client for progress and updates, as well as performing adjustments as needed based on clients' specifications and requirements. Principal engineers also inspect the materials and resources used to ensure that the project stays within the budget goals and set timeframe. They should have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in preparing reports and training new staff.
Senior service engineers and principal engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Service Engineer | Principal Engineer | |
| Average salary | $113,551 | $130,213 |
| Salary range | Between $85,000 And $150,000 | Between $95,000 And $177,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Mateo, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | Grubhub |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Telecommunication |
There are a few differences between a senior service engineer and a principal engineer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Service Engineer | Principal Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between senior service engineers' and principal engineers' demographics:
| Senior Service Engineer | Principal Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 75.4% Female, 24.6% | Male, 92.6% Female, 7.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.1% Asian, 11.6% White, 71.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 16.6% White, 67.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |