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The differences between design supervisors and senior project 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 project engineer. Additionally, a senior project engineer has an average salary of $97,803, 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 project engineer are project management, construction management, and CAD.
| Design Supervisor | Senior Project Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $78,150 | $97,803 |
| Hourly rate | $37.57 | $47.02 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 37,558 | 146,838 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 76% |
| 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 project engineer is responsible for monitoring the project team's overall process and operations from conceptualization until completion, ensuring the adherence to the clients' specifications, within the budget's goals, and the required deadline. Senior project engineers regularly communicate with the client regarding updates or necessary adjustments. They develop strategic procedures to finish the project efficiently by running diagnostic tests and troubleshooting discrepancies. A senior project engineer must have excellent communication and leadership skills to handle the team's performance and provide assistance when necessary.
Design supervisors and senior project engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Design Supervisor | Senior Project Engineer | |
| Average salary | $78,150 | $97,803 |
| Salary range | Between $48,000 And $127,000 | Between $77,000 And $124,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Jose, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Maryland |
| Best paying company | Micron Technology | Amazon |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a design supervisor and a senior project engineer in terms of educational background:
| Design Supervisor | Senior Project Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 76% |
| Most common major | Drafting And Design | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Carnegie Mellon University | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between design supervisors' and senior project engineers' demographics:
| Design Supervisor | Senior Project Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 77.0% Female, 23.0% | Male, 84.4% Female, 15.6% |
| 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, 3.2% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 8.4% Asian, 14.8% White, 69.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |