Contract mechanical designer vs design engineer

The differences between contract mechanical designers 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 a contract mechanical designer and a design engineer. Additionally, a design engineer has an average salary of $77,134, which is higher than the $69,294 average annual salary of a contract mechanical designer.

The top three skills for a contract mechanical designer include R, BOM and auto cad. The most important skills for a design engineer are C++, UL, and project management.

Contract mechanical designer vs design engineer overview

	Contract Mechanical Designer	Design Engineer
Yearly salary	$69,294	$77,134
Hourly rate	$33.31	$37.08
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	72,152	138,173
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 49%	Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Average age	41	41
Years of experience	6	6

Contract mechanical designer vs design engineer salary

Contract mechanical designers and design engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Contract Mechanical Designer	Design Engineer
Average salary	$69,294	$77,134
Salary range	Between $52,000 And $91,000	Between $57,000 And $102,000
Highest paying City	-	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	Meta
Best paying industry	-	Technology

Differences between contract mechanical designer and design engineer education

There are a few differences between a contract mechanical designer and a design engineer in terms of educational background:

	Contract Mechanical Designer	Design Engineer
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 49%	Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Most common major	Drafting And Design	Mechanical Engineering
Most common college	Carnegie Mellon University	Michigan Technological University

Contract mechanical designer vs design engineer demographics

Here are the differences between contract mechanical designers' and design engineers' demographics:

	Contract Mechanical Designer	Design Engineer
Average age	41	41
Gender ratio	Male, 92.6% Female, 7.4%	Male, 88.9% Female, 11.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.5% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.8% Asian, 10.2% White, 71.8% 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%

Differences between contract mechanical designer and design engineer duties and responsibilities

Contract mechanical designer example responsibilities.

Work with JPL / NASA packaging and fabrication engineering leads (on-site).
Correspond with various vendors to select proper HVAC equipment.
Develop detail drawings, mechanize animations, bill of materials, ECO, and ECR's.
Generate ECO to update part specification in accordance with manufacturing requirements.
Create designs and documentation to facilitate manufacture of products including drawings, BOM and material specifications.
Design and automate electro-mechanical machinery to customer specifications.

Design engineer example responsibilities.

Utilize CREO surfacing to achieve stylize toilets and components.
Lead innovative cost reduction activities for MBD which lead to industry wide changes.
Develop software in MATLAB & LabVIEW to post-process data, analyze images, and automate test modules.
Participate in new product design reviews, lead DFM sessions with suppliers, and develop part specifications.
Validate specifications that achieve function requirements and Honda standards using FTA, FMEA, simulation, design logic & team collaboration.
Develop tools using Perl script to automate integration/verification process.

Contract mechanical designer vs design engineer skills

Common contract mechanical designer skills

R, 9%
BOM, 8%
Auto CAD, 7%
Mechanical Design, 6%
Layout Drawings, 6%
Product Development, 5%

Common design engineer skills

C++, 4%
UL, 4%
Project Management, 4%
Work Ethic, 4%
Engineering Design, 4%
RF, 3%

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Contract Mechanical Designer
Contract Mechanical Designer vs Design Engineer

Updated January 8, 2025

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