Aircraft designer vs senior designer

The differences between aircraft designers and senior designers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become an aircraft designer, becoming a senior designer takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a senior designer has an average salary of $102,058, which is higher than the $91,919 average annual salary of an aircraft designer.

The top three skills for an aircraft designer include MATLAB, installation drawings and CATIA. The most important skills for a senior designer are sketch, graphic design, and human centered design.

Aircraft designer vs senior designer overview

	Aircraft Designer	Senior Designer
Yearly salary	$91,919	$102,058
Hourly rate	$44.19	$49.07
Growth rate	6%	3%
Number of jobs	46,747	47,503
Job satisfaction	5	1
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 73%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Average age	44	38
Years of experience	4	12

Aircraft designer vs senior designer salary

Aircraft designers and senior designers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Aircraft Designer	Senior Designer
Average salary	$91,919	$102,058
Salary range	Between $61,000 And $137,000	Between $72,000 And $143,000
Highest paying City	-	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	-	Washington
Best paying company	-	Lyft
Best paying industry	-	Media

Differences between aircraft designer and senior designer education

There are a few differences between an aircraft designer and a senior designer in terms of educational background:

	Aircraft Designer	Senior Designer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 73%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Most common major	Aerospace Engineering	Graphic Design
Most common college	Georgia Institute of Technology	University of Pennsylvania

Aircraft designer vs senior designer demographics

Here are the differences between aircraft designers' and senior designers' demographics:

	Aircraft Designer	Senior Designer
Average age	44	38
Gender ratio	Male, 86.7% Female, 13.3%	Male, 71.0% Female, 29.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 8.9% Asian, 19.8% White, 63.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 10.4% White, 70.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	8%	13%

Differences between aircraft designer and senior designer duties and responsibilities

Aircraft designer example responsibilities.

Manage documentation of existing projects, perform ECN resolutions.
Upgrade models from Catia V4 to Catia V5.
Perform shipchecks including off site and on board sketch work.
Analyze and resolve deficiencies on composite parts and assemblies report from MRB.
Create new composite FOD shield to attach to forward fuselage for composite prop conformity.
Research airframe and engine log books on multiple types of aircraft to verify all necessary maintenance guidelines have been comply with.

Senior designer example responsibilities.

Identify, plan and lead brainstorming sessions for new blue-sky product opportunities across all boys' lines.
Design all marketing collateral within those standards including flyers, ads, conference materials, brochures, and design mailed pieces.
Implement HTML and CSS tags.
Format designs and media for use in print and web applications; deliver production-ready graphics in HTML and CSS.
Design and production of marketing materials, PowerPoint templates for pitch decks, event graphics, various collateral and HTML e-mails.
Lead the team in brainstorming sessions and assist with market research and testing.

Aircraft designer vs senior designer skills

Common aircraft designer skills

MATLAB, 29%
Installation Drawings, 25%
CATIA, 24%
CAD, 12%
FAA, 10%

Common senior designer skills

Sketch, 15%
Graphic Design, 5%
Human Centered Design, 4%
User Experience, 4%
UI, 4%
CAD, 4%