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The differences between design engineers and product 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 design engineer and a product design engineer. Additionally, a product design engineer has an average salary of $94,827, which is higher than the $77,134 average annual salary of a design engineer.
The top three skills for a design engineer include C++, UL and project management. The most important skills for a product design engineer are CAD, mechanical design, and GD.
| Design Engineer | Product Design Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $77,134 | $94,827 |
| Hourly rate | $37.08 | $45.59 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 138,173 | 170,485 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A design engineer is responsible for creating systems and applications based on their expertise. Design engineers work through client specifications based on business needs. A design engineer also provides recommendations on improving existing systems to boost its performance and increase efficiency. Design engineers must have an excellent command of computer systems, programming codes, and technical data to ensure the system's stability and high-quality processes. A design engineer should also have strong analytical and time-management skills to perform tasks and meet deadlines.
A Product Design Engineer designs new products that customers will want to purchase. They are responsible for designing, modeling, and testing prototypes for products.
Design engineers and product design engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Design Engineer | Product Design Engineer | |
| Average salary | $77,134 | $94,827 |
| Salary range | Between $57,000 And $102,000 | Between $69,000 And $129,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Mateo, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a design engineer and a product design engineer in terms of educational background:
| Design Engineer | Product Design Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Michigan Technological University | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between design engineers' and product design engineers' demographics:
| Design Engineer | Product Design Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 88.9% Female, 11.1% | Male, 90.9% Female, 9.1% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 3.2% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 8.2% Asian, 16.2% White, 67.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |