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The differences between business development engineers and product development engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a business development engineer and a product development engineer. Additionally, a business development engineer has an average salary of $105,267, which is higher than the $86,075 average annual salary of a product development engineer.
The top three skills for a business development engineer include java, business development and project management. The most important skills for a product development engineer are CAD, solidworks, and product development.
| Business Development Engineer | Product Development Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $105,267 | $86,075 |
| Hourly rate | $50.61 | $41.38 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 136,516 | 202,155 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 78% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Average age | 44 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A business development engineer's role is to help companies build strong and positive relationships with clients and business partners. They conduct market research and analysis to find new business and client opportunities, plan and implement programs, and develop strategies for business and profit growth. They also produce proposals, streamline project requirements, perform risk assessments, study the competitor and consumers' behavior, and assist sales teams as necessary. Moreover, in some companies, there are instances when a business development engineer communicates directly with clients to close deals and negotiate contracts.
A Product Development Engineer is responsible for creating and testing new product designs. They collaborate with market researchers to evaluate market needs, existing competition, and potential costs.
Business development engineers and product development engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Business Development Engineer | Product Development Engineer | |
| Average salary | $105,267 | $86,075 |
| Salary range | Between $75,000 And $146,000 | Between $64,000 And $113,000 |
| Highest paying City | Springfield, VA | Sunnyvale, CA |
| Highest paying state | Virginia | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | Amazon |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Technology |
There are a few differences between a business development engineer and a product development engineer in terms of educational background:
| Business Development Engineer | Product Development Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 78% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between business development engineers' and product development engineers' demographics:
| Business Development Engineer | Product Development Engineer | |
| Average age | 44 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 86.4% Female, 13.6% | Male, 86.8% Female, 13.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 1.4% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 6.7% Asian, 11.6% White, 73.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 16.7% White, 67.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 5% |