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The differences between advanced manufacturing engineers and production 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 production engineer takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, an advanced manufacturing engineer has an average salary of $90,343, which is higher than the $89,727 average annual salary of a production engineer.
The top three skills for an advanced manufacturing engineer include lean manufacturing, project management and sigma. The most important skills for a production engineer are java, continuous improvement, and lean manufacturing.
| Advanced Manufacturing Engineer | Production Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $90,343 | $89,727 |
| Hourly rate | $43.43 | $43.14 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 75,116 | 94,789 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 76% |
| 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 production engineer is responsible for monitoring the production operations, ensuring everyone's adherence to safety protocols, and evaluating the staff's performance, strategizing on maximizing productivity to deliver efficient results that would drive revenues and increase profitability. Production engineers inspect the reliability of production equipment and machinery, conducting preventive maintenance, and repair inconsistencies to prevent production delays. They also identify areas of improvement with the manufacturing processes and escalate best practices for improvement. A production engineer must be knowledgeable about technological advancements and incorporate ideas to minimize costs without sacrificing the quality of services.
Advanced manufacturing engineers and production engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Advanced Manufacturing Engineer | Production Engineer | |
| Average salary | $90,343 | $89,727 |
| Salary range | Between $67,000 And $121,000 | Between $64,000 And $125,000 |
| Highest paying City | Santa Rosa, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Cheniere Energy | |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Technology |
There are a few differences between an advanced manufacturing engineer and a production engineer in terms of educational background:
| Advanced Manufacturing Engineer | Production Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 76% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between advanced manufacturing engineers' and production engineers' demographics:
| Advanced Manufacturing Engineer | Production Engineer | |
| Average age | 43 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 93.1% Female, 6.9% | Male, 86.7% Female, 13.3% |
| 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, 4.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.5% Asian, 15.4% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 4% |