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The differences between advanced manufacturing engineers and process improvement engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become an advanced manufacturing engineer, becoming a process improvement engineer takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, an advanced manufacturing engineer has an average salary of $90,343, which is higher than the $82,473 average annual salary of a process improvement engineer.
The top three skills for an advanced manufacturing engineer include lean manufacturing, project management and sigma. The most important skills for a process improvement engineer are lean six sigma, sigma, and project management.
| Advanced Manufacturing Engineer | Process Improvement Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $90,343 | $82,473 |
| Hourly rate | $43.43 | $39.65 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 75,116 | 55,438 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Average age | 43 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 4 |
An advanced manufacturing engineer specializes in designing and developing equipment and machinery to optimize an organization's manufacturing operations. Among their responsibilities include performing research and analysis to identify the manufacturing facility's needs, creating prototypes and test structures, liaising with vendors and suppliers to purchase materials, managing budgets and timelines, assessing existing systems and methods to find areas needing improvement, and implementing solutions against problem areas. Furthermore, as an engineer, it is essential to conduct maintenance checks on systems and equipment to ensure quality standards and compliance with state laws and regulations.
A process improvement engineer specializes in conducting research and analysis to develop new strategies and ideas to improve the processes in a manufacturing plant or a similar setting. They prioritize efficiency and profitability. Most of the time, engineers participate in a series of meetings where they coordinate with fellow engineers to determine opportunities for product growth and development. Moreover, a process improvement engineer is also responsible for crafting new policies and regulations, upgrading systems, and developing new practices to ensure product quality and customer satisfaction.
Advanced manufacturing engineers and process improvement engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Advanced Manufacturing Engineer | Process Improvement Engineer | |
| Average salary | $90,343 | $82,473 |
| Salary range | Between $67,000 And $121,000 | Between $62,000 And $109,000 |
| Highest paying City | Santa Rosa, CA | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | California | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Meta | |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Technology |
There are a few differences between an advanced manufacturing engineer and a process improvement engineer in terms of educational background:
| Advanced Manufacturing Engineer | Process Improvement Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Business |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | New York University |
Here are the differences between advanced manufacturing engineers' and process improvement engineers' demographics:
| Advanced Manufacturing Engineer | Process Improvement Engineer | |
| Average age | 43 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 93.1% Female, 6.9% | Male, 63.2% Female, 36.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 17.2% White, 63.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 4.7% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 11.6% Asian, 10.5% White, 69.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 4% |