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Contract project engineer vs design engineer

The differences between contract project 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 a contract project engineer and a design engineer. Additionally, a design engineer has an average salary of $77,134, which is higher than the $77,050 average annual salary of a contract project engineer.

The top three skills for a contract project engineer include construction projects, construction management and HVAC. The most important skills for a design engineer are C++, UL, and project management.

Contract project engineer vs design engineer overview

Contract Project EngineerDesign Engineer
Yearly salary$77,050$77,134
Hourly rate$37.04$37.08
Growth rate2%2%
Number of jobs105,706138,173
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 77%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Average age4141
Years of experience66

Contract project engineer vs design engineer salary

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

Contract Project EngineerDesign Engineer
Average salary$77,050$77,134
Salary rangeBetween $56,000 And $105,000Between $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 project engineer and design engineer education

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

Contract Project EngineerDesign Engineer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 77%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Most common majorMechanical EngineeringMechanical Engineering
Most common collegeGeorgia Institute of TechnologyMichigan Technological University

Contract project engineer vs design engineer demographics

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

Contract Project EngineerDesign Engineer
Average age4141
Gender ratioMale, 87.8% Female, 12.2%Male, 88.9% Female, 11.1%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.3% Asian, 12.3% White, 70.3% 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 Percentage5%5%

Differences between contract project engineer and design engineer duties and responsibilities

Contract project engineer example responsibilities.

  • Provide mechanical design and sustaining engineering expertise to troubleshoot manufacturing defect trends and achieve a more robust and producible product.
  • Design and installation of plumbing and fixtures for rest room modifications.
  • Design and installation of plumbing and sprinkler modifications for manufacturing operations.
  • Authore and present technical manuals, troubleshoot guides, technical reports and presentations to provide instructional training to technicians and supervisors.
  • Develop and document design history file for FDA medical device submissions.
  • Develop and authore documentation and test procedures to comply with FDA software verification and validation requirements.
  • Show more

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.
  • Show more

Contract project engineer vs design engineer skills

Common contract project engineer skills
  • Construction Projects, 12%
  • Construction Management, 9%
  • HVAC, 8%
  • Shop Drawings, 7%
  • QC, 6%
  • Engineering Support, 6%
Common design engineer skills
  • C++, 4%
  • UL, 4%
  • Project Management, 4%
  • Work Ethic, 4%
  • Engineering Design, 4%
  • RF, 3%

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