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The differences between team lead engineers and project lead engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a team lead engineer, becoming a project lead engineer takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a team lead engineer has an average salary of $114,867, which is higher than the $106,946 average annual salary of a project lead engineer.
The top three skills for a team lead engineer include python, architecture and java. The most important skills for a project lead engineer are project management, renewable energy, and project execution.
| Team Lead Engineer | Project Lead Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $114,867 | $106,946 |
| Hourly rate | $55.22 | $51.42 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 235,155 | 98,018 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Average age | 41 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 4 |
A team leads engineer is in charge of spearheading and overseeing the efforts of an engineering team, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. Although the duties may depend on one's industry of employment, it typically includes designing and developing systems according to project requirements, setting objectives and construction guidelines, delegating tasks, managing budgets and schedules, and monitoring the workflow, performing corrective measures as needed. Furthermore, as a team leads engineer, it is essential to encourage the workforce to reach goals, all while enforcing the company's safety standards and regulations.
Project lead engineers are engineering professionals who are responsible for leading other professionals in completing a particular project. These engineers must develop a project management framework to be implemented throughout the organization based on the inputs from internal stakeholders and team members. They are required to train junior team members so that they can provide proper technical support functions. Project lead engineers must also prepare and review cost estimates for a variety of projects during bidding, construction, and post-construction phases.
Team lead engineers and project lead engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Team Lead Engineer | Project Lead Engineer | |
| Average salary | $114,867 | $106,946 |
| Salary range | Between $84,000 And $156,000 | Between $78,000 And $146,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Cupertino, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a team lead engineer and a project lead engineer in terms of educational background:
| Team Lead Engineer | Project Lead Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between team lead engineers' and project lead engineers' demographics:
| Team Lead Engineer | Project Lead Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 86.7% Female, 13.3% | Male, 86.8% Female, 13.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.3% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.0% Asian, 14.5% White, 68.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 15.2% White, 66.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 4% |