Average Principal Support Engineer Salary in Costa Rica for 2024

In this article, we will look at the average Principal Support Engineer salary for 2024 in Costa Rica and how that compares to other countries and professions. We'll also look at interesting salary data points like median salary, 25th and 75th percentile salaries, salary amounts based on experience, bonus ranges and more!

The data in this article has been compiled using official government salary data, salary surveys, and other sources such as job postings which contain salary information.

All salary information is in the local currency, which is the Costa Rican colón. To keep things simple, we are using the CRC currency code instead of the currency symbol ₡.

How Much Does a Principal Support Engineer Make in Costa Rica?

A Principal Support Engineer working in Costa Rica will typically earn around 25,321,400 CRC per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 12,361,500 CRC to the highest average salary of 39,481,900 CRC.

Average Annual Salary
25,321,400 CRC
Average Monthly Salary
2,110,116 CRC

Lowest Annual Salary
12,361,500 CRC
Lowest Monthly Salary
1,030,125 CRC

Highest Annual Salary
39,481,900 CRC
Highest Monthly Salary
3,290,158 CRC

These are average salaries for a Principal Support Engineer in Costa Rica and include benefits such as housing and transport. It's also possible for a Principal Support Engineer to earn more or less than the average salaries shown above.

Principal Support Engineer salaries will vary a lot based on your experience, location, skills, and gender. Keep reading below to research more data on each of these areas.

Distribution of Principal Support Engineer Salaries in Costa Rica

So we've looked at the average salaries a Principal Support Engineer will earn in Costa Rica. The next interesting data point is the distribution of salaries.

Salary ranges

We already know that a Principal Support Engineer can earn between 12,361,500 CRC and 39,481,900 CRC on average in Costa Rica. This is known as the range in statistics.

The difference between the maximum and minimum values is a good indicator of variability in salaries, and can be used by employers to figure out how much they can expect to pay, and for employees to know how much they can earn.

Median salary

The median salary for a Principal Support Engineer in Costa Rica is 25,801,200 CRC. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 25,801,200 CRC, and 50% of the population earn more than 25,801,200 CRC.

If you are earning more than the median salary, that's a good indicator that you are being paid well.

If you're not earning more than the median salary, your objective should be to increase your earnings to be at least as high as the median salary (which you can do by asking for a pay rise, looking for a better paying job, etc).

Percentiles

Percentiles are similar to the median salary, but instead of looking at the middle value, they look at the values in the top and bottom half of the distribution.

For the average Principal Support Engineer salary in Costa Rica, 25% of the population are earning less than 17,159,700 CRC while 75% of the population earn more than 17,159,700 CRC.

75% of the population earn less than 33,240,500 CRC, and 25% of the population earn more than 33,240,500 CRC.

Like the median salary, the 25th and 75th percentile salaries can be used to determine which quartile you fall into so that you know whether you are being paid well enough compared to others in your profession and location.

The difference between a median and an average salary

The median and average salary are both indicators you can use to see if you are being paid fairly based on the overall population.

  • If your salary is higher than the average and the median salary, you are earning well compared to others.
  • If your salary is lower than the average and the median salary, it could indicate you are not being paid well enough.
  • If you are somewhere in between then it's tricky to determine if you are being paid well enough and you might need to research more closely.

Principal Support Engineer Salary by Experience Level in Costa Rica

The most important factor in determining your salary after the specific profession is the number of years experience you have. It stands to reason that more years of experience will result in a higher wage.

We have researched the average principal support engineer salary based on years of experience to give you an idea of how the average changes once you've worked for a certain amount of time.

  • 0 - 2 Years Experience. A Principal Support Engineer in Costa Rica that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 14,639,900 CRC.
  • 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Principal Support Engineer salary would increase to 18,840,100 CRC.
  • 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as a Principal Support Engineer, the average salary would be 26,040,800 CRC.
  • 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 32,280,500 CRC.
  • 15 - 20 Years Experience. A Principal Support Engineer with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 34,561,900 CRC.
  • 20+ Years Experience. For a Principal Support Engineer with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 36,841,600 CRC.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

0-2 Years
14,639,900 CRC
2-5 Years +29%
18,840,100 CRC
5-10 Years +38%
26,040,800 CRC
10-15 Years +24%
32,280,500 CRC
15-20 Years +7%
34,561,900 CRC
20+ Years +7%
36,841,600 CRC

Principal Support Engineer Salary by Education Level in Costa Rica

As well as experience in a job, your education plays a big role in how much you can earn. A lot of higher paying positions require a high level of education, but how much can a degree increase your salary?

In our research we have compared the salaries of employees in the same job and career level with different levels of education to see how much more you can earn at each education level.

The salary you can earn based on your education is very specific to both your location and the career path you choose.

In our research, we looked at the average salary for a Principal Support Engineer in Costa Rica based on the education level of the employees in order to find out whether a better education level would increase your salary.

  • Bachelor's Degree. A Principal Support Engineer in Costa Rica with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 18,359,600 CRC.

  • Master's Degree. A Principal Support Engineer in Costa Rica with a master's degree education can earn an average salary of 29,399,100 CRC.

Average Salary by Education Chart

Bachelor's Degree
18,359,600 CRC
Master's Degree +60%
29,399,100 CRC

How Much is a Master's Degree or MBA Program?

The approximate cost of a master's degree or post-graduate program like an MBA in Costa Rica is around 11,800,000 to 35,400,000 CRC and takes two years to complete.

As you can see above, there are financial benefits from reaching master's degree level, but don't expect to see much of a salary increase until you have completed the degree.

It's common for people to pursue an MBA or other post-graduate program in order to switch to a a job that pays more. On average, you can expect to earn around 10% more when switching to a new company.

Whether you decide to pursue a master's degree depends on many factors. If you are able to afford it, the numbers suggest that the return on investment is worth it and you could recover the costs in a few years from the salary increase you would receive.

Principal Support Engineer Salary Compared by Gender

In the modern age, we know that there should never be a pay gap between men and women. Unfortunately, in many professions, there is still a significant difference between the salaries earned by men when compared to the salary of women in the same job.

In Costa Rica, a male principal support engineer will earn an average of 26,040,800 CRC, while a female principal support engineer will earn around 24,359,000 CRC.

This means that a male principal support engineer earns approximately 7% more than a female principal support engineer for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in Costa Rica

Male
26,040,800 CRC
Female -7%
24,359,000 CRC

Principal Support Engineer Average Pay Raise in Costa Rica

In many countries, an annual pay raise is often given to employees to reward their service with a salary increase.

From our research, we can see that the average pay raise for a Principal Support Engineer in Costa Rica is around 12% every 17 months.

The national average pay raise across all professions and industries in Costa Rica is around 9% every 17 months.

In this case, we can see that the number of months between the average pay raise is higher than the typical 12 months.

To make the data more meaningful, we can calculate what the approximate annual pay raise would be using a simple formula:

Annual Increase = ( Increase Rate ÷ Months ) × 12

So for this example, it would be:

Annual Increase = ( 12 ÷ 17 ) × 12  = 8%

What this means is that a Principal Support Engineer in Costa Rica can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 8% every 12 months.

Annual Pay Raise by Industry in Costa Rica for 2024

In the chart below, you can see the average annual pay raise percentages for each of the major industries in Costa Rica.

You will see that companies in bigger and more lucrative industries tend to have the higher annual pay raises.

Banking
7%
Energy
5%
Information Technology
3%
Healthcare
1%
Travel
8%
Construction
6%
Education
4%

Principal Support Engineer Bonus and Incentive Rates in Costa Rica

Another part of your overall compensation in a job is how much bonus you receive. Some job roles will be more likely to pay a bonus than others and also more likely to have higher bonus rates.

Generally speaking, jobs that are more involved with direct revenue generation will receive higher bonuses based on the performance towards revenue goals.

A Principal Support Engineer is a low bonus based job, with 29% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

71% reported that they had not received any bonuses in the previous 12 months.

For the employees that did receive a bonus in the previous 12 months, the reported bonuses ranged from 0% to 4%.

Received Bonus
29%
No Bonus
71%

What are the Types of Bonus?

There are a number of difference types of bonus you can receive in a job. Including:

  • Individual performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee for general performance in the job. It's the most common type of bonus.
  • Company performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to a company employees to share profit with the staff.
  • Goal based bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee (or a team) for achieving specific goals, objectives, or milestones.
  • Holiday bonus - This type of bonus is usually paid around the holidays, often the end of the year, and is a token of appreciation for the hard work throughout the year.

Government vs Private Sector Salaries

Another commonly asked question is whether you get paid a higher salary working in the public (government) sector or the private sector.

Public sector employees in Costa Rica earn approximately 6% more than private sector employees in the same role.

Public Sector
29,399,100 CRC
Private Sector -6%
27,721,300 CRC

Salaries for Jobs Similar to a Principal Support Engineer

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to a Principal Support Engineer in Costa Rica.

Job Title Category Salary
Acoustics Engineer Engineering 24,239,000 CRC
Assembly Engineering Technician Engineering 19,200,400 CRC
Assistant Chief Engineer Engineering 26,639,300 CRC
Associate Engineer Engineering 22,321,900 CRC
AutoCAD Drafter Engineering 14,760,200 CRC
Autocad Operator Engineering 15,719,900 CRC
Automation Engineer Engineering 26,280,300 CRC
Automation Engineer Engineering 27,118,300 CRC
Avionic System Support Engineer Engineering 23,159,200 CRC
Biochemical Engineer Engineering 22,321,900 CRC
BMS Engineer Engineering 22,681,800 CRC
Bridge and Lock Tender Engineering 14,038,300 CRC
Broadcast Engineer Engineering 25,321,400 CRC
CAD Design Engineer Engineering 24,841,800 CRC
CAD Designer Engineering 15,960,700 CRC
CAE Engineer Engineering 25,079,200 CRC
Ceramics Engineer Engineering 22,918,100 CRC
Chemical Engineer Engineering 25,679,100 CRC
Civil Drafter Engineering 16,079,800 CRC
Civil Engineer Engineering 24,718,600 CRC
Civil Site Engineer Engineering 26,880,900 CRC
Civil Technician Engineering 15,118,700 CRC
Commissioning Engineer Engineering 23,878,400 CRC
Communications Engineer Engineering 26,639,300 CRC
Condition Monitoring Engineer Engineering 20,518,900 CRC
Contract Associate Engineer Engineering 22,681,800 CRC
Contract Engineer Engineering 23,878,400 CRC
Control Systems Engineer Engineering 25,200,800 CRC
Controls Engineer Engineering 24,841,800 CRC
Controls Software Engineer Engineering 21,599,000 CRC
Corrosion Engineer Engineering 22,799,000 CRC
Design Engineer Engineering 25,801,200 CRC
Director of Engineering Engineering 50,158,700 CRC
Drafter Engineering 15,360,400 CRC
Drafting Manager Engineering 29,761,800 CRC
Drilling Engineer Engineering 23,399,000 CRC
Drilling Foreman Engineering 7,561,700 CRC
Electrical Draughtsman Engineering 12,958,200 CRC
Electrical Engineer Engineering 27,841,200 CRC
Electrical Engineering Manager Engineering 34,679,400 CRC
Electromechanical Engineering Technologist Engineering 25,919,400 CRC
Electromechanical Equipment Assembler Engineering 13,319,300 CRC
Energy Engineer Engineering 25,440,400 CRC
Engine Assembler Engineering 11,123,200 CRC
Engineer Engineering 26,880,900 CRC
Engineering Account Manager Engineering 27,118,300 CRC
Engineering Chief Designer Engineering 27,601,100 CRC
Engineering Consultant Engineering 33,721,200 CRC
Engineering Key Account Manager Engineering 35,521,100 CRC
Engineering Lab Technician Engineering 22,441,700 CRC
Engineering Manager Engineering 33,481,400 CRC
Engineering Planning Manager Engineering 34,919,600 CRC
Engineering Production Manager Engineering 42,119,100 CRC
Engineering Project Analyst Engineering 29,278,200 CRC
Engineering Project Coordinator Engineering 29,399,100 CRC
Engineering Project Director Engineering 50,639,500 CRC
Engineering Project Leader Engineering 33,240,500 CRC
Engineering Project Manager Engineering 34,441,600 CRC
Engineering Research and Development Manager Engineering 39,840,400 CRC
Engineering Safety Coordinator Engineering 20,281,100 CRC
Engineering Sales Manager Engineering 32,398,700 CRC
Engineering Technician Engineering 19,078,500 CRC
Engineering Technologist Engineering 18,840,100 CRC
Environmental Engineer Engineering 23,759,100 CRC
Equipment Engineer Engineering 23,280,700 CRC
Equipment Engineering Manager Engineering 32,038,500 CRC
Estimator Engineering 22,081,800 CRC
Fabrication Specialist Engineering 17,159,700 CRC
Fabricator Engineering 11,653,500 CRC
Facade Engineer Engineering 24,239,000 CRC
Fiber Analyst Engineering 14,280,500 CRC
Field Engineer Engineering 26,639,300 CRC
Field Engineering Manager Engineering 41,280,700 CRC
Fire Engineer Engineering 25,801,200 CRC
Fitter and Turner Engineering 7,848,500 CRC
Forestry Strategic Planner Engineering 29,519,900 CRC
Generation Engineer Engineering 26,280,300 CRC
Genetic Engineer Engineering 27,960,400 CRC
Geological Engineer Engineering 26,280,300 CRC
Geotechnical Engineer Engineering 27,361,200 CRC
Heavy Equipment Mechanic Engineering 13,798,900 CRC
Highway Engineer Engineering 24,478,500 CRC
HSE Professional Engineering 22,799,000 CRC
HVAC Engineer Engineering 27,479,000 CRC
HVAC Supervisor Engineering 22,799,000 CRC
Industrial Engineer Engineering 23,759,100 CRC
Industrial Engineering Technologist Engineering 23,280,700 CRC
Instrument Engineer Engineering 23,399,000 CRC
Instrument Technician Engineering 13,679,300 CRC
Instrumentation and Control Engineer Engineering 23,399,000 CRC
Instrumentation Designer Engineering 21,121,400 CRC
Instrumentation Engineer Engineering 25,679,100 CRC
Instrumentation Manager Engineering 23,520,800 CRC
Irrigation Engineer Engineering 25,200,800 CRC
Licensed Aircraft Engineer Engineering 26,520,600 CRC
Locomotive Engineer Engineering 23,759,100 CRC
Maintenance Engineer Engineering 23,159,200 CRC
Maintenance Fitter Engineering 9,094,100 CRC
Maintenance Manager Engineering 25,321,400 CRC
Manufacturing Engineer Engineering 25,079,200 CRC
Marine Engineer Engineering 24,958,800 CRC
Materials Engineer Engineering 23,159,200 CRC
Materials Researcher Engineering 22,558,900 CRC
Materials Technician Engineering 18,598,500 CRC
Mechanical and Electrical Engineer Engineering 26,280,300 CRC
Mechanical Design Engineer Engineering 25,679,100 CRC
Mechanical Designer Engineering 21,961,700 CRC
Mechanical Engineer Engineering 26,520,600 CRC
Mechanical Engineering Manager Engineering 33,360,800 CRC
Mechanical Inspector Engineering 24,599,500 CRC
Mechatronics Engineer Engineering 25,919,400 CRC
Mining Engineer Engineering 23,638,700 CRC
Oil and Petrochemical Engineer Engineering 26,040,800 CRC
Optical Engineer Engineering 23,878,400 CRC
Optical Instrument Assembler Engineering 13,079,500 CRC
PCB Assembler Engineering 9,133,400 CRC
Photonics Engineer Engineering 26,639,300 CRC
Photonics Technician Engineering 22,918,100 CRC
Pipeline Engineer Engineering 23,638,700 CRC
Piping Designer Engineering 13,441,600 CRC
Piping Engineer Engineering 23,759,100 CRC
Planning Engineer Engineering 25,919,400 CRC
Pressure Vessel Inspector Engineering 11,856,900 CRC
Principal Cost Engineer Engineering 26,158,200 CRC
Principal Engineer Engineering 24,000,900 CRC
Process Engineer Engineering 24,841,800 CRC
Process Operator Engineering 14,519,400 CRC
Product Development Engineer Engineering 24,841,800 CRC
Product Development Technician Engineering 18,720,200 CRC
Product Engineer Engineering 26,280,300 CRC
Product Safety Engineer Engineering 24,119,700 CRC
Production Engineer Engineering 25,440,400 CRC
Project Engineer Engineering 25,440,400 CRC
Proposal Manager Engineering 31,320,700 CRC
Purchasing Engineer Engineering 23,638,700 CRC
Quality Assurance Engineer Engineering 25,079,200 CRC
Rail Engineer Engineering 24,239,000 CRC
Regional Field Engineer Engineering 28,200,200 CRC
Robotics Engineer Engineering 28,560,900 CRC
Robotics Technician Engineering 19,678,200 CRC
Safety Engineer Engineering 25,321,400 CRC
Safety Inspector Engineering 19,078,500 CRC
Safety Manager Engineering 29,519,900 CRC
Safety Officer Engineering 12,361,500 CRC
Sales Engineer Engineering 27,721,300 CRC
Scheduling Engineer Engineering 23,638,700 CRC
Service Engineer Engineering 27,001,700 CRC
Solar Engineer Engineering 25,561,400 CRC
Staff Engineer Engineering 25,321,400 CRC
Static Equipment Engineer Engineering 23,399,000 CRC
Stationary Engineer Engineering 21,719,900 CRC
Stress Engineer Engineering 22,198,500 CRC
Structural Analysis Engineer Engineering 24,599,500 CRC
Structural Designer Engineering 20,999,200 CRC
Structural Engineer Engineering 23,520,800 CRC
Structural Technician Engineering 16,198,300 CRC
Supply Chain Specialist Engineering 23,638,700 CRC
Surveyor Engineering 18,359,600 CRC
Technical Affairs Officer Engineering 12,361,500 CRC
Technical Assistant Engineering 13,079,500 CRC
Technical Engineer Engineering 21,961,700 CRC
Technical Support Engineer Engineering 20,518,900 CRC
Tender Engineer Engineering 21,961,700 CRC
Test Development Engineer Engineering 24,599,500 CRC
Test Engineer Engineering 24,239,000 CRC
Transportation Engineer Engineering 22,918,100 CRC
Validation Engineer Engineering 21,841,900 CRC
Verification Engineer Engineering 23,159,200 CRC
Wastewater Engineer Engineering 25,561,400 CRC
Wind Energy Engineer Engineering 25,440,400 CRC
Wind Energy Operations Manager Engineering 31,800,300 CRC
Work Planner Engineering 16,679,800 CRC

Salary Comparison by City

If you want to compare salaries with different cities in Costa Rica, you can use the links below to explore the data for each specific city we have researched.

City Average Salary
San Jose 28,318,900 CRC

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