Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between graduate engineers and senior manufacturing engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a graduate engineer, becoming a senior manufacturing engineer takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a senior manufacturing engineer has an average salary of $93,853, which is higher than the $70,395 average annual salary of a graduate engineer.
The top three skills for a graduate engineer include civil 3d, cost estimates and project management. The most important skills for a senior manufacturing engineer are lean manufacturing, continuous improvement, and sigma.
| Graduate Engineer | Senior Manufacturing Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $70,395 | $93,853 |
| Hourly rate | $33.84 | $45.12 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 98,584 | 97,154 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 83% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Average age | 45 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 2 |
A graduate engineer can work in different engineering subspecialties, such as mechanical, civil, chemical, aerospace, and electrical. Most graduate engineers work on projects while under the supervision and directives of a supervisor or senior engineer. Their duties usually involve identifying and understanding project requirements, conducting research and assessments, completing surveys, and preparing models using different tools and software. Additionally, a graduate engineer can also create designs and prototypes according to project requirements and guidelines, producing regular progress reports for supervisors.
A Senior Manufacturing Engineer works in a company's production operations and is responsible for developing and improving manufacturing processes. They analyze and propose solutions to engineering problems.
Graduate engineers and senior manufacturing engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Graduate Engineer | Senior Manufacturing Engineer | |
| Average salary | $70,395 | $93,853 |
| Salary range | Between $55,000 And $89,000 | Between $71,000 And $123,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | California |
| Best paying company | Microsoft | |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a graduate engineer and a senior manufacturing engineer in terms of educational background:
| Graduate Engineer | Senior Manufacturing Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 83% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Johns Hopkins University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between graduate engineers' and senior manufacturing engineers' demographics:
| Graduate Engineer | Senior Manufacturing Engineer | |
| Average age | 45 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 77.3% Female, 22.7% | Male, 92.6% Female, 7.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.1% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.0% Asian, 24.9% White, 57.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 4.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 17.1% White, 63.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 5% |