Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between start-up engineers and 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 start-up engineer and a staff engineer. Additionally, a staff engineer has an average salary of $107,530, 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 staff engineer are java, python, and architecture.
| Start-Up Engineer | Staff Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $96,978 | $107,530 |
| Hourly rate | $46.62 | $51.70 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 87,993 | 277,011 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| 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.
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.
Start-up engineers and staff engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Start-Up Engineer | Staff Engineer | |
| Average salary | $96,978 | $107,530 |
| Salary range | Between $62,000 And $150,000 | Between $69,000 And $167,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Mateo, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Mexico | California |
| Best paying company | CyberCoders | Flexport |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Telecommunication |
There are a few differences between a start-up engineer and a staff engineer in terms of educational background:
| Start-Up Engineer | Staff Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between start-up engineers' and staff engineers' demographics:
| Start-Up Engineer | Staff Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 93.4% Female, 6.6% | Male, 87.9% Female, 12.1% |
| 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, 3.1% 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% |