How To Become An Associate Design Engineer: What It Is and Career Path

What is an associate design engineer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Davide Masato

An associate design engineer works in various engineering fields, including structural, mechanical, and electrical. In essence, their role is to design engineering processes that help ensure efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and optimal productivity within an organization.

With that in mind, their duties mostly include conducting product testing, coordinating projects, developing engineering strategies, and identifying areas for improvement. They also help with forecasting, bidding, budgeting, and documentation. Furthermore, they often work closely with contractors, clients, and other engineers to ensure project efficiency and success.

An aspiring associate design engineer must have a degree in engineering that is relevant to their industry. Depending on their employer, they may also need to have a license, as well as enough relevant experience to prove their skills and credibility.

Similar to other types of engineers, an associate design engineer makes an average salary of around $35 an hour or $73,000 a year. If one wants to look for the highest-paying jobs, they should consider opportunities in New Jersey, California, and Utah, to name a few.

What general advice would you give to an associate design engineer?

Davide Masato

Assistant Professor, Website

The high demand for plastics engineers facilitates maximizing starting salaries. Graduates with co-op experience enjoy a competitive edge. To grow both as engineers and team members, young professionals should actively seek professional development opportunities. Continuous learning and seeking advancement within the organization or externally are key. Pursuing advanced degrees or certifications, even remotely, enhances qualifications and marketability.

ScoreAssociate Design EngineerUS Average

Salary

5.8

Avg. Salary $74,791

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.4

Growth rate 2%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.11%

Asian 17.09%

Black or African American 3.11%

Hispanic or Latino 7.98%

Unknown 4.52%

White 67.20%

Gender

female 15.75%

male 84.25%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress level

7.4

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.6

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.1

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an associate design engineer

Explore associate design engineer education requirements

Most common associate design engineer degrees

Bachelor's

71.3 %

Associate

16.7 %

Master's

8.2 %

Start to develop specific associate design engineer skills

Skills	Percentages
Design Engineering	16.78%
CAD	9.88%
Autocad	6.00%
Engineering Drawings	5.12%
Solidworks	4.42%

Complete relevant associate design engineer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New associate design engineers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an associate design engineer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real associate design engineer resumes.

Research associate design engineer duties and responsibilities

Manage automation projects including purchasing, scheduling fabrication and assembly, debugging, and delivery to customer.
Maintain BOM, schematic implementation, and maintenance
Design for high volume mold and manufacture using SolidWorks.
Create BOM and machine documentations for assemblies to get efficient procurement.

Prepare your associate design engineer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your associate design engineer resume.

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