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The differences between directors of systems engineering and design managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes More than 10 years to become both a director of systems engineering and a design manager. Additionally, a director of systems engineering has an average salary of $165,127, which is higher than the $102,637 average annual salary of a design manager.
The top three skills for a director of systems engineering include systems engineering, infrastructure and cloud. The most important skills for a design manager are sketch, project management, and visualization.
| Director Of Systems Engineering | Design Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $165,127 | $102,637 |
| Hourly rate | $79.39 | $49.34 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 123,068 | 61,273 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Average age | 48 | 48 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A director of systems engineering oversees the systems engineering department in a company, ensuring everything runs smoothly and efficiently. Having more knowledge and experience in the field, they are in charge of setting goals and guidelines, managing budgets and timelines, conducting evaluations to ensure the efficiency of all systems and procedures, performing research and analysis to determine the strengths and weaknesses of existing systems, and implementing solutions against problem areas. Moreover, as director of systems engineering, they must lead and encourage the workforce to reach goals while enforcing and promoting the company's policies and regulations.
A design manager is responsible for creating graphic and digital designs, following clients' specifications, and managing project deliverables efficiently. Design managers work closely with the marketing and public relations department, developing strategies to promote the brand to the target audience. They coordinate with the creative team and present the design ideas to the management, ask for final approval, perform revisions as needed, and follow the budget goals. A design manager must have excellent communication and leadership skills to handle the design team's concerns and needs.
Directors of systems engineering and design managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Director Of Systems Engineering | Design Manager | |
| Average salary | $165,127 | $102,637 |
| Salary range | Between $113,000 And $239,000 | Between $69,000 And $150,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a director of systems engineering and a design manager in terms of educational background:
| Director Of Systems Engineering | Design Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor |
Here are the differences between directors of systems engineering' and design managers' demographics:
| Director Of Systems Engineering | Design Manager | |
| Average age | 48 | 48 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 92.6% Female, 7.4% | Male, 63.8% Female, 36.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.0% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 8.6% Asian, 13.4% White, 70.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 11.8% White, 71.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |