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The differences between solutions engineers and senior 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 solutions engineer and a senior engineer. Additionally, a senior engineer has an average salary of $108,743, which is higher than the $95,482 average annual salary of a solutions engineer.
The top three skills for a solutions engineer include cloud, pre sales and java. The most important skills for a senior engineer are java, python, and architecture.
| Solutions Engineer | Senior Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $95,482 | $108,743 |
| Hourly rate | $45.90 | $52.28 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 123,287 | 343,200 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 44 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 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.
A senior engineer is responsible for overseeing all operations within a designated area. With years of experience and expertise, a senior engineer may take charge of establishing goals, deadlines, and budgets for a particular project. They must devise and implement strategies that would improve the quality of workflow and deliver significant results. Furthermore, a senior manager must also supervise a team of skilled engineers, leading them in the joint effort to reach the company's vision and mission, all while adhering to the safety standards and regulations.
Solutions engineers and senior engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Solutions Engineer | Senior Engineer | |
| Average salary | $95,482 | $108,743 |
| Salary range | Between $68,000 And $134,000 | Between $82,000 And $144,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Mateo, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | ByteDance | Roku |
| Best paying industry | Start-up | Start-up |
There are a few differences between a solutions engineer and a senior engineer in terms of educational background:
| Solutions Engineer | Senior Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between solutions engineers' and senior engineers' demographics:
| Solutions Engineer | Senior Engineer | |
| Average age | 44 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 85.1% Female, 14.9% | Male, 89.1% Female, 10.9% |
| 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, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 17.1% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 5% |