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The differences between usability engineers and staff software engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a usability engineer and a staff software engineer. Additionally, a staff software engineer has an average salary of $136,653, which is higher than the $98,689 average annual salary of a usability engineer.
The top three skills for a usability engineer include user experience, UI and user research. The most important skills for a staff software engineer are java, python, and software development.
| Usability Engineer | Staff Software Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $98,689 | $136,653 |
| Hourly rate | $47.45 | $65.70 |
| Growth rate | 21% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 242,166 | 371,213 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A usability engineer conducts studies to ensure a user can easily access all features of a product. They design questionnaires, interview-based studies, and tests. They also design and prototype user interfaces in HTML. They usually have a narrow area of specialization.
A Staff Software Engineer is responsible for developing, maintaining, and repairing company software for maximum efficiency and usability. They instruct and mentor their team members in software development techniques and cloud development.
Usability engineers and staff software engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Usability Engineer | Staff Software Engineer | |
| Average salary | $98,689 | $136,653 |
| Salary range | Between $67,000 And $145,000 | Between $100,000 And $186,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Oregon | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Varian Medical Systems | Airbnb |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Retail |
There are a few differences between a usability engineer and a staff software engineer in terms of educational background:
| Usability Engineer | Staff Software Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Computer Science |
| Most common college | University of Maryland - College Park | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between usability engineers' and staff software engineers' demographics:
| Usability Engineer | Staff Software Engineer | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 54.3% Female, 45.7% | Male, 83.0% Female, 17.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.0% Asian, 29.1% White, 53.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 4.6% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 8.4% Asian, 33.5% White, 48.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |