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The differences between staff engineers and contracting 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 staff engineer and a contracting engineer. Additionally, a contracting engineer has an average salary of $122,620, which is higher than the $107,530 average annual salary of a staff engineer.
The top three skills for a staff engineer include java, python and architecture. The most important skills for a contracting engineer are C++, C #, and R.
| Staff Engineer | Contracting Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $107,530 | $122,620 |
| Hourly rate | $51.70 | $58.95 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 277,011 | 115,631 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
Staff engineers are responsible for designing, developing, and inspecting various products, equipment, or structures. These professionals may perform varied duties depending on their specialization that includes overseeing the design and construction of buildings, bridges, sewer systems, and other infrastructure, estimating the financial costs of construction projects, and ensuring compliance with health and safety laws and regulations. Other duties include designing and developing machinery, tools, and engines, solving design problems, and building the manufacturing equipment needed to create their products.
A contracting engineer specializes in overseeing engineering projects, focusing on the legalities of contracts between clients and engineers to ensure fairness in all parties involved. Most of their duties are administrative, such as gathering and analyzing data, conducting research and analyses, setting budgets and guidelines, drafting commercial tenders and other paperwork, maintaining records, and executing contracts. They are also responsible for handling contract issues and concerns, solving them promptly and efficiently. Additionally, a contracting engineer maintains an open communication line with all parties to ensure a smooth workflow.
Staff engineers and contracting engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Staff Engineer | Contracting Engineer | |
| Average salary | $107,530 | $122,620 |
| Salary range | Between $69,000 And $167,000 | Between $86,000 And $173,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Mateo, CA | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | California | New York |
| Best paying company | Flexport | EquiLend |
| Best paying industry | Telecommunication | Professional |
There are a few differences between a staff engineer and a contracting engineer in terms of educational background:
| Staff Engineer | Contracting Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between staff engineers' and contracting engineers' demographics:
| Staff Engineer | Contracting Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 87.9% Female, 12.1% | Male, 88.2% Female, 11.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 16.8% White, 67.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 3.5% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.6% Asian, 11.8% White, 70.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |