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The differences between software validation engineers and principal software engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a software validation engineer and a principal software engineer. Additionally, a principal software engineer has an average salary of $134,230, which is higher than the $93,590 average annual salary of a software validation engineer.
The top three skills for a software validation engineer include C++, C # and python. The most important skills for a principal software engineer are java, python, and software development.
| Software Validation Engineer | Principal Software Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $93,590 | $134,230 |
| Hourly rate | $45.00 | $64.53 |
| Growth rate | 21% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 243,875 | 345,893 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 70% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
Software validation engineers and principal software engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Software Validation Engineer | Principal Software Engineer | |
| Average salary | $93,590 | $134,230 |
| Salary range | Between $73,000 And $119,000 | Between $98,000 And $182,000 |
| Highest paying City | Foster City, CA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | California | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Apple | |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Retail |
There are a few differences between a software validation engineer and a principal software engineer in terms of educational background:
| Software Validation Engineer | Principal Software Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 70% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Harvard University | California State University - Long Beach |
Here are the differences between software validation engineers' and principal software engineers' demographics:
| Software Validation Engineer | Principal Software Engineer | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 70.9% Female, 29.1% | Male, 87.5% Female, 12.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.5% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.3% Asian, 29.9% White, 52.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 4.4% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.2% Asian, 29.9% White, 52.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |