Engineer vs inventor

The differences between engineers and inventors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become an engineer, becoming an inventor takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, an engineer has an average salary of $92,077, which is higher than the $57,594 average annual salary of an inventor.

The top three skills for an engineer include python, cloud and C++. The most important skills for an inventor are CAD, CNC, and R.

Engineer vs inventor overview

	Engineer	Inventor
Yearly salary	$92,077	$57,594
Hourly rate	$44.27	$27.69
Growth rate	2%	3%
Number of jobs	618,207	2,932
Job satisfaction	4.33	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 65%	Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Average age	41	40
Years of experience	6	4

Engineer vs inventor salary

Engineers and inventors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Engineer	Inventor
Average salary	$92,077	$57,594
Salary range	Between $65,000 And $130,000	Between $31,000 And $103,000
Highest paying City	Huntsville, AL	New York, NY
Highest paying state	New Hampshire	New York
Best paying company	Fort Bend County	Accenture
Best paying industry	Automotive	-

Differences between engineer and inventor education

There are a few differences between an engineer and an inventor in terms of educational background:

	Engineer	Inventor
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 65%	Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Most common major	Mechanical Engineering	Business
Most common college	Michigan Technological University	Northwestern University

Engineer vs inventor demographics

Here are the differences between engineers' and inventors' demographics:

	Engineer	Inventor
Average age	41	40
Gender ratio	Male, 86.3% Female, 13.7%	Male, 79.5% Female, 20.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.3% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.1% Asian, 15.0% White, 67.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%	Black or African American, 1.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.3% Asian, 10.1% White, 76.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	5%	8%

Differences between engineer and inventor duties and responsibilities

Engineer example responsibilities.

Manage startup, trouble shooting and testing of PLC control equipment.
Lead project team to design and FDA validate 10-up extreme accuracy vial dosing system and CIP/SIP automate cleaning equipment.
Automate the creation of a WebLogic Admin and manage server deployment scheme within an installer for secure application deployment.
Install and test PLC in client own equipment on site - solve some logical and hardware issues to accomplish goal
Implement and manage continuous delivery systems and methodologies on AWS.
Manage Terraform and refactore from monolithic to application specific components.

Inventor example responsibilities.

Manage DR, social media, PPC & SEO on Google & Facebook
Manage all aspects of production including QC, packaging needs, and adherence to worldwide product standard protocols.
Finish designing and coding a prototype in Java.
Create the 3D model and drawings with Solidworks.
Used EZIO microcontroller I/O board to interface to computer connect toys.
Create data visualization techniques for displaying production analytics data sets for an industrial IoT solution.

Engineer vs inventor skills

Common engineer skills

Python, 8%
Cloud, 6%
C++, 5%
C #, 5%
AWS, 5%
Java, 4%

Common inventor skills

CAD, 46%
CNC, 33%
R, 9%
Prototype, 4%
Solidworks, 2%
Product Concepts, 1%