Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between completion engineers and product development engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-8 years to become a completion engineer, becoming a product development engineer takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a completion engineer has an average salary of $156,228, which is higher than the $86,075 average annual salary of a product development engineer.
The top three skills for a completion engineer include rig, AFE and cost estimates. The most important skills for a product development engineer are CAD, solidworks, and product development.
| Completion Engineer | Product Development Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $156,228 | $86,075 |
| Hourly rate | $75.11 | $41.38 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 11,512 | 202,155 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 77% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Average age | 43 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 8 | 6 |
Completion Engineers are engineering professionals who are responsible for designing and monitoring well completions and ensuring the safety of drilling completion operations. These engineers must communicate instructions to the drilling contractors for all operations while emphasizing safety, well control, and LEAN. They are required to conduct meetings on multiple onsite safety and analysis of hazardous materials to improve workplace safety. Completion Engineers must also work closely with the senior management to establish standard operating procedures that follow the industry and government regulations.
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.
Completion engineers and product development engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Completion Engineer | Product Development Engineer | |
| Average salary | $156,228 | $86,075 |
| Salary range | Between $107,000 And $227,000 | Between $64,000 And $113,000 |
| Highest paying City | Anchorage, AK | Sunnyvale, CA |
| Highest paying state | Nevada | California |
| Best paying company | Devon Energy | Amazon |
| Best paying industry | Utilities | Technology |
There are a few differences between a completion engineer and a product development engineer in terms of educational background:
| Completion Engineer | Product Development Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 77% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Most common major | Petroleum Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between completion engineers' and product development engineers' demographics:
| Completion Engineer | Product Development Engineer | |
| Average age | 43 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 91.4% Female, 8.6% | Male, 86.8% Female, 13.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 17.1% White, 63.1% 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 | 5% | 5% |