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The differences between staff engineers and senior staff 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 senior staff engineer. Additionally, a senior staff engineer has an average salary of $136,031, 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 senior staff engineer are python, java, and architecture.
| Staff Engineer | Senior Staff Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $107,530 | $136,031 |
| Hourly rate | $51.70 | $65.40 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 277,011 | 239,752 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| 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 senior staff engineer is responsible for supervising a team of engineers, chemists, software developers, or molecular biologists. His/Her or her responsibilities include generating Structured Query Language (SQL) performance audit checklist template, creating SQL data query routines and functions for data extraction, and working directly with stakeholders. The job requires strong mechanical, listening, and mathematical skills and proficiency in Python programming language and computer architecture and hardware. The education requirements for the job include a bachelor's or master's degree in electrical engineering, business, mechanical engineering, or a related field.
Staff engineers and senior staff engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Staff Engineer | Senior Staff Engineer | |
| Average salary | $107,530 | $136,031 |
| Salary range | Between $69,000 And $167,000 | Between $95,000 And $194,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Mateo, CA | San Mateo, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Flexport | Airbnb |
| Best paying industry | Telecommunication | Telecommunication |
There are a few differences between a staff engineer and a senior staff engineer in terms of educational background:
| Staff Engineer | Senior Staff Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | California State Polytechnic University, Pomona |
Here are the differences between staff engineers' and senior staff engineers' demographics:
| Staff Engineer | Senior Staff Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 87.9% Female, 12.1% | Male, 78.4% Female, 21.6% |
| 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, 16.8% White, 67.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |