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The differences between solutions engineers and account executives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a solutions engineer has an average salary of $95,482, which is higher than the $69,618 average annual salary of an account executive.
The top three skills for a solutions engineer include cloud, pre sales and java. The most important skills for an account executive are customer service, CRM, and healthcare.
| Solutions Engineer | Account Executive | |
| Yearly salary | $95,482 | $69,618 |
| Hourly rate | $45.90 | $33.47 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 123,287 | 205,561 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 78% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 6 | - |
A solutions engineer is an individual who assists customers in identifying their computer software needs and generates customized business software solutions for them. Solutions engineers collaborate with other department engineers to create practical demonstrations of proposed solutions and showcase them to the other members of the team. They are required to test the installed software and fix programming bugs that create errors with the system. Solutions engineers also maintain customer relations by providing post-installation follow-ups.
An account executive is responsible for supporting existing clients, closing client deals, and developing sales strategies to increase the company's sales and satisfaction. An account executive must be competitive enough to keep up with the constant changes in the sales industry, including the high demands of digital marketing, a different approach to product advertising, effective negotiation, and presentation skills. An account executive also requires excellent communication skills for the successful acquisition of client accounts and immediately resolve possible complaints as they arise.
Solutions engineers and account executives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Solutions Engineer | Account Executive | |
| Average salary | $95,482 | $69,618 |
| Salary range | Between $68,000 And $134,000 | Between $44,000 And $109,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Portland, OR |
| Highest paying state | California | Oregon |
| Best paying company | ByteDance | Hitachi Vantara |
| Best paying industry | Start-up | Finance |
There are a few differences between a solutions engineer and an account executive in terms of educational background:
| Solutions Engineer | Account Executive | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 78% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between solutions engineers' and account executives' demographics:
| Solutions Engineer | Account Executive | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 85.1% Female, 14.9% | Male, 57.2% Female, 42.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 1.4% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 6.9% Asian, 10.8% White, 74.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 6.7% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 5.6% White, 66.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 5% |