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The differences between 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 service engineer and a principal engineer. Additionally, a principal engineer has an average salary of $130,213, which is higher than the $87,151 average annual salary of a service engineer.
The top three skills for a service engineer include customer service, infrastructure and cloud. The most important skills for a principal engineer are java, architecture, and python.
| Service Engineer | Principal Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $87,151 | $130,213 |
| Hourly rate | $41.90 | $62.60 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 143,806 | 312,683 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A service engineer is responsible for assisting the customers' concerns regarding the products and services offered by the company through technical support solutions. Service engineers conduct preventive maintenance, upgrade systems to boost optimal performance, create product manuals, record the occurring issues, perform adjustments on the systems infrastructure, identify business opportunities to generate more revenues, and analyze current market trends to meet client demands. A service engineer must have excellent communication skills, including extensive knowledge of the technology industry and network systems.
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.
Service engineers and principal engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Service Engineer | Principal Engineer | |
| Average salary | $87,151 | $130,213 |
| Salary range | Between $62,000 And $122,000 | Between $95,000 And $177,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Mateo, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | The Citadel | Grubhub |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Telecommunication |
There are a few differences between a service engineer and a principal engineer in terms of educational background:
| Service Engineer | Principal Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Michigan Technological University | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between service engineers' and principal engineers' demographics:
| Service Engineer | Principal Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 91.8% Female, 8.2% | Male, 92.6% Female, 7.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.3% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 8.9% Asian, 13.2% White, 69.9% 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% |