Firmware Engineer vs Surgeon

Put two roles head to head — any role, in any location or worldwide-remote.

Side A

Side B

Surgeon pays about 70% more at the median.

Side-by-side distribution

Firmware Engineer Surgeon
$191k
$324.2k
$95k box = 25th–75th · whiskers = 10th–90th $581k

Firmware Engineer

$191,000

median · per year, annualized USD

Median over time ▼ -0.3%
$191,500 $191,000
$160k 25th
$191k Median
$215k 75th
$128.5k
$234.8k
Box 25th–75th · whiskers 10th–90th Full range $41.6k – $500k · outliers off-axis
Disclosing
54.3%
Live roles
197

Surgeon

$324,171

median · per year, annualized USD

Median over time ▲ +39.6%
$232,250 $324,171
$247.5k 25th
$324.2k Median
$450k 75th
$153k
$547.5k
Box 25th–75th · whiskers 10th–90th Full range $75k – $1,000k · outliers off-axis
Disclosing
20.2%
Live roles
124

Top companies hiring

Company Median Roles
Anduril Industries $222,000 14
OpenAI $345,500 4
ALSO $187,500 4
CoreWeave $197,500 3
Mach Industries $172,500 3
ALTEN Technology USA $120,000 3
42dot $228,000 2
Everpure $216,250 2

Firmware Engineer salary by location

Location Median Roles
San Francisco $210,458 14
New York $197,500 7

Surgeon salary by location

Location Median Roles
New York $350,000 6

Firmware Engineer vs Surgeon: which pays more?

The median for Firmware Engineer is $191,000 per year (typically $160,000–$215,000), versus $324,171 for Surgeon ($247,500–$450,000). That puts Surgeon about 70% ahead at the median.

Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Firmware Engineer and Surgeon are compared on equal terms regardless of the currency each role was originally posted in. Only roles that publish a salary range feed the medians; numbers refresh every few hours as new roles post and older ones close, so this comparison reflects the market right now rather than a fixed survey. Use it as a directional benchmark when weighing one path against the other.

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