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The differences between start-up 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 start-up engineer and a contracting engineer. Additionally, a contracting engineer has an average salary of $122,620, which is higher than the $96,978 average annual salary of a start-up engineer.
The top three skills for a start-up engineer include test results, control systems and test procedures. The most important skills for a contracting engineer are C++, C #, and R.
| Start-Up Engineer | Contracting Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $96,978 | $122,620 |
| Hourly rate | $46.62 | $58.95 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 87,993 | 115,631 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A start-up engineer must have systematic debugging skills. They are responsible for fixing bugs reported by clients. They must also promptly navigate unfamiliar codebases. They develop new tools to meet clients' needs.
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.
Start-up engineers and contracting engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Start-Up Engineer | Contracting Engineer | |
| Average salary | $96,978 | $122,620 |
| Salary range | Between $62,000 And $150,000 | Between $86,000 And $173,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | New Mexico | New York |
| Best paying company | CyberCoders | EquiLend |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Professional |
There are a few differences between a start-up engineer and a contracting engineer in terms of educational background:
| Start-Up Engineer | Contracting Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | 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 start-up engineers' and contracting engineers' demographics:
| Start-Up Engineer | Contracting Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 93.4% Female, 6.6% | Male, 88.2% Female, 11.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.2% Asian, 10.3% White, 72.4% 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% |