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The differences between system safety engineers and engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a system safety engineer, becoming an engineer takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, an engineer has an average salary of $92,077, which is higher than the $81,790 average annual salary of a system safety engineer.
The top three skills for a system safety engineer include safety analysis, fault tree analysis and system design. The most important skills for an engineer are python, cloud, and C++.
| System Safety Engineer | Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $81,790 | $92,077 |
| Hourly rate | $39.32 | $44.27 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 33,353 | 618,207 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.33 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 6 |
A system safety engineer specializes in designing and developing safety protocols and policies to ensure smooth operations against unforeseen circumstances. Their responsibilities typically revolve around performing research and analysis to identify and meet the company's needs, evaluating existing safety measures to find areas needing improvement, recommending and implementing solutions, and conducting regular maintenance checks to ensure a safe and productive work environment. Furthermore, as a system safety engineer, it is essential to implement and enforce the company's policies and regulations, recommending new ones as needed.
Engineers are highly trained professionals who determine the feasibility of various projects, usually related to the construction industry. They are considered experts in mathematics and science, two disciplines that they need to use in designing and coming up with plans for projects. They should also be well-versed in different construction or industrial materials, and they ensure that appropriate materials are used for the project. They also ensure that the projects meet the requirements of the groups that hired them. They create spaces that would both address the needs of the end-users and the industry standards. They also ensure that the projects they make would stand the test of time.
System safety engineers and engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| System Safety Engineer | Engineer | |
| Average salary | $81,790 | $92,077 |
| Salary range | Between $48,000 And $139,000 | Between $65,000 And $130,000 |
| Highest paying City | Foster City, CA | Huntsville, AL |
| Highest paying state | California | New Hampshire |
| Best paying company | NVIDIA | Fort Bend County |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a system safety engineer and an engineer in terms of educational background:
| System Safety Engineer | Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northeastern University | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between system safety engineers' and engineers' demographics:
| System Safety Engineer | Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 80.5% Female, 19.5% | Male, 86.3% Female, 13.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.7% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 11.5% Asian, 11.6% White, 68.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 3.3% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.1% Asian, 15.0% White, 67.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 5% |