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The differences between staff engineers and solutions architects can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a solutions architect has an average salary of $116,327, 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 solutions architect are cloud, java, and AWS.
| Staff Engineer | Solutions Architect | |
| Yearly salary | $107,530 | $116,327 |
| Hourly rate | $51.70 | $55.93 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 277,011 | 107,754 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 41 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 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 solutions architect specializes in creating and implementing software systems that improve business operations and resolve network issues. They are primarily responsible for conducting research and analysis to assess the business's needs, develop specific designs for the company, provide solutions should there be any system issues, and keep company officials informed with all changes and updates. Furthermore, a solutions architect must lead and encourage development teams, stay up to date with the newest trends to continue innovations within the systems, and implement its policies and guidelines.
Staff engineers and solutions architects have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Staff Engineer | Solutions Architect | |
| Average salary | $107,530 | $116,327 |
| Salary range | Between $69,000 And $167,000 | Between $87,000 And $154,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Mateo, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Flexport | Airbnb |
| Best paying industry | Telecommunication | Retail |
There are a few differences between a staff engineer and a solutions architect in terms of educational background:
| Staff Engineer | Solutions Architect | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between staff engineers' and solutions architects' demographics:
| Staff Engineer | Solutions Architect | |
| Average age | 41 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 87.9% Female, 12.1% | Male, 86.6% Female, 13.4% |
| 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, 6.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 12.0% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 11% |