Contract mechanical designer vs mechanical engineer

The differences between contract mechanical designers and mechanical 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 mechanical engineer. Additionally, a mechanical engineer has an average salary of $75,352, 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 mechanical engineer are CAD, solidworks, and mechanical systems.

Contract mechanical designer vs mechanical engineer overview

	Contract Mechanical Designer	Mechanical Engineer
Yearly salary	$69,294	$75,352
Hourly rate	$33.31	$36.23
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	72,152	105,618
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 49%	Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Average age	41	41
Years of experience	6	6

Contract mechanical designer vs mechanical engineer salary

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

	Contract Mechanical Designer	Mechanical Engineer
Average salary	$69,294	$75,352
Salary range	Between $52,000 And $91,000	Between $58,000 And $97,000
Highest paying City	-	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	-	Washington
Best paying company	-	Meta
Best paying industry	-	Energy

Differences between contract mechanical designer and mechanical engineer education

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

	Contract Mechanical Designer	Mechanical Engineer
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 49%	Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Most common major	Drafting And Design	Mechanical Engineering
Most common college	Carnegie Mellon University	Michigan Technological University

Contract mechanical designer vs mechanical engineer demographics

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

	Contract Mechanical Designer	Mechanical Engineer
Average age	41	41
Gender ratio	Male, 92.6% Female, 7.4%	Male, 90.6% Female, 9.4%
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, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 16.6% White, 68.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between contract mechanical designer and mechanical 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.

Mechanical engineer example responsibilities.

Manage machine shop and Sr. Machinist/Toolmaker.
Lead the implementation of Syteline MRP software.
Manage component work orders and failure test scheduling to parts as per DFMEA with design team.
Use of PLM software tools such as WindChill to manage data, revisions, iterations and approvals.
Lead a brainstorming session for review with supplier & management and follow through the successful implementation of a corrective action.
Attain SolidWorks CSWP certification and maintaining proficiency within CREO & AutoCad

Contract mechanical designer vs mechanical engineer skills

Common contract mechanical designer skills

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

Common mechanical engineer skills

CAD, 10%
Solidworks, 9%
Mechanical Systems, 6%
Mechanical Design, 5%
HVAC, 5%
Plumbing, 4%

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Contract Mechanical Designer
Contract Mechanical Designer vs Mechanical Engineer

Updated January 8, 2025

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