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The differences between design supervisors and senior 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 supervisor and a senior engineer. Additionally, a senior engineer has an average salary of $108,743, which is higher than the $78,150 average annual salary of a design supervisor.
The top three skills for a design supervisor include autocad, engineering drawings and engineering design. The most important skills for a senior engineer are java, python, and architecture.
| Design Supervisor | Senior Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $78,150 | $108,743 |
| Hourly rate | $37.57 | $52.28 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 37,558 | 343,200 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A design supervisor oversees the daily operations of an organization's design team, ensuring projects are completed within deadlines, budgets, and client requirements. They are primarily responsible for understanding project specifications, establishing budgets and guidelines, coordinating with managers, delegating responsibilities, and conducting regular assessments and evaluations to ensure operations run smoothly and efficiently according to industry standards and regulations. They may also communicate directly with clients to provide them with updates, present reports to the director, and liaise with external parties such as suppliers and distributors.
A senior engineer is responsible for overseeing all operations within a designated area. With years of experience and expertise, a senior engineer may take charge of establishing goals, deadlines, and budgets for a particular project. They must devise and implement strategies that would improve the quality of workflow and deliver significant results. Furthermore, a senior manager must also supervise a team of skilled engineers, leading them in the joint effort to reach the company's vision and mission, all while adhering to the safety standards and regulations.
Design supervisors and senior engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Design Supervisor | Senior Engineer | |
| Average salary | $78,150 | $108,743 |
| Salary range | Between $48,000 And $127,000 | Between $82,000 And $144,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Jose, CA | San Mateo, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Micron Technology | Roku |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Start-up |
There are a few differences between a design supervisor and a senior engineer in terms of educational background:
| Design Supervisor | Senior Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Drafting And Design | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Carnegie Mellon University | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between design supervisors' and senior engineers' demographics:
| Design Supervisor | Senior Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 77.0% Female, 23.0% | Male, 89.1% Female, 10.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.2% Asian, 10.4% White, 72.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 17.1% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |