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The differences between automotive engineers and design engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both an automotive engineer and a design engineer. Additionally, an automotive engineer has an average salary of $82,211, which is higher than the $77,134 average annual salary of a design engineer.
The top three skills for an automotive engineer include CAD, ISO and adaptive. The most important skills for a design engineer are C++, UL, and project management.
| Automotive Engineer | Design Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $82,211 | $77,134 |
| Hourly rate | $39.52 | $37.08 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 104,464 | 138,173 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
An automotive engineer specializes in designing and developing vehicles for public or private use. Their job entails conducting extensive research and analyses, conceptualizing plans with fellow experts, building prototypes and structures, troubleshooting problems, and implementing multiple test procedures to identify how the vehicle operates at different conditions and ensure its quality adheres to standards and regulations. Besides developing new vehicles, an automotive engineer may also modify existing models, which requires them to study the market and consumers' feedback, identify the strengths and weaknesses of existing systems, and coordinate upgrades.
A design engineer is responsible for creating systems and applications based on their expertise. Design engineers work through client specifications based on business needs. A design engineer also provides recommendations on improving existing systems to boost its performance and increase efficiency. Design engineers must have an excellent command of computer systems, programming codes, and technical data to ensure the system's stability and high-quality processes. A design engineer should also have strong analytical and time-management skills to perform tasks and meet deadlines.
Automotive engineers and design engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Automotive Engineer | Design Engineer | |
| Average salary | $82,211 | $77,134 |
| Salary range | Between $57,000 And $118,000 | Between $57,000 And $102,000 |
| Highest paying City | Belmont, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Cal | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Hospitality | Technology |
There are a few differences between an automotive engineer and a design engineer in terms of educational background:
| Automotive Engineer | Design Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between automotive engineers' and design engineers' demographics:
| Automotive Engineer | Design Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 93.0% Female, 7.0% | Male, 88.9% Female, 11.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.2% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 8.6% Asian, 15.9% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 3.2% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 8.2% Asian, 16.8% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |