Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between technical writer leads and principal 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 technical writer lead, becoming a principal engineer takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a principal engineer has an average salary of $130,213, which is higher than the $66,624 average annual salary of a technical writer lead.
The top three skills for a technical writer lead include technical documentation, subject matter experts and maintenance procedures. The most important skills for a principal engineer are java, architecture, and python.
| Technical Writer Lead | Principal Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $66,624 | $130,213 |
| Hourly rate | $32.03 | $62.60 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 75,697 | 312,683 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 46 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 6 |
Technical writer leads and principal engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Technical Writer Lead | Principal Engineer | |
| Average salary | $66,624 | $130,213 |
| Salary range | Between $52,000 And $85,000 | Between $95,000 And $177,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | San Mateo, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | California |
| Best paying company | - | Grubhub |
| Best paying industry | - | Telecommunication |
There are a few differences between a technical writer lead and a principal engineer in terms of educational background:
| Technical Writer Lead | Principal Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | English | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | University of Houston | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between technical writer leads' and principal engineers' demographics:
| Technical Writer Lead | Principal Engineer | |
| Average age | 46 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 53.5% Female, 46.5% | Male, 92.6% Female, 7.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.6% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 8.7% White, 71.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 16.6% White, 67.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 5% |