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The differences between senior technical designers and senior 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 technical designer and a senior principal engineer. Additionally, a senior principal engineer has an average salary of $130,642, which is higher than the $84,266 average annual salary of a senior technical designer.
The top three skills for a senior technical designer include sketch, PLM and CAD. The most important skills for a senior principal engineer are python, architecture, and java.
| Senior Technical Designer | Senior Principal Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $84,266 | $130,642 |
| Hourly rate | $40.51 | $62.81 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 129,449 | 272,459 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 50% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
Senior technical designers and senior principal engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Technical Designer | Senior Principal Engineer | |
| Average salary | $84,266 | $130,642 |
| Salary range | Between $53,000 And $132,000 | Between $93,000 And $182,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Apple | Airbnb |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Professional |
There are a few differences between a senior technical designer and a senior principal engineer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Technical Designer | Senior Principal Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 50% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Graphic Design | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Georgia Institute of Technology | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between senior technical designers' and senior principal engineers' demographics:
| Senior Technical Designer | Senior Principal Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 57.5% Female, 42.5% | Male, 88.2% Female, 11.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.3% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.0% Asian, 11.9% White, 71.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | 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% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |