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The differences between staff engineers and junior 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 junior engineer. Additionally, a staff engineer has an average salary of $107,530, which is higher than the $70,653 average annual salary of a junior engineer.
The top three skills for a staff engineer include java, python and architecture. The most important skills for a junior engineer are control systems, java, and C++.
| Staff Engineer | Junior Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $107,530 | $70,653 |
| Hourly rate | $51.70 | $33.97 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 277,011 | 107,703 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| 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 Junior Engineer helps design, build, or maintain engines, machines, or public works. They work under the supervision of an engineer.
Staff engineers and junior engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Staff Engineer | Junior Engineer | |
| Average salary | $107,530 | $70,653 |
| Salary range | Between $69,000 And $167,000 | Between $54,000 And $91,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Mateo, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Washington |
| Best paying company | Flexport | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Telecommunication | Technology |
There are a few differences between a staff engineer and a junior engineer in terms of educational background:
| Staff Engineer | Junior Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Civil Engineering |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between staff engineers' and junior engineers' demographics:
| Staff Engineer | Junior Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 87.9% Female, 12.1% | Male, 83.4% Female, 16.6% |
| 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, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 16.7% White, 67.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |