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The differences between industrial process engineers and manufacturing engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become an industrial process engineer, becoming a manufacturing engineer takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a manufacturing engineer has an average salary of $78,522, which is higher than the $73,891 average annual salary of an industrial process engineer.
The top three skills for an industrial process engineer include process design, sigma and autocad. The most important skills for a manufacturing engineer are lean manufacturing, CAD, and solidworks.
| Industrial Process Engineer | Manufacturing Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $73,891 | $78,522 |
| Hourly rate | $35.52 | $37.75 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 59,144 | 115,384 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Average age | 42 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 2 |
An industrial process Engineer develops, installs, and monitors the processes and pieces of equipment that transform raw materials into finished products. Besides researching and developing new equipment, industrial process engineers also monitor, test, and maintain equipment pieces in their working states. They complete documentation to indicate and ensure everything runs as per the highlighted protocols and regulations. These professionals ensure high productivity rates at all times by supervising industrial processes and working. Also, they update the industrial management and senior colleagues with data and reports.
Manufacturing Engineers are responsible for handling and developing an efficient manufacturing system or procedure that will help a company produce up to standard products while in adherence to the policies, regulations, and expected cost and schedule. Furthermore, Manufacturing Engineers must also monitor quality control, identify or detect errors, provide and suggest improvements, oversee the procurement of materials involved in the production, and coordinate with various teams or departments within the company to ensure the effectiveness of innovations or new developments.
Industrial process engineers and manufacturing engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Industrial Process Engineer | Manufacturing Engineer | |
| Average salary | $73,891 | $78,522 |
| Salary range | Between $58,000 And $94,000 | Between $60,000 And $102,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Palo Alto, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | NVIDIA | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Technology |
There are a few differences between an industrial process engineer and a manufacturing engineer in terms of educational background:
| Industrial Process Engineer | Manufacturing Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Most common major | Industrial Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Georgia Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between industrial process engineers' and manufacturing engineers' demographics:
| Industrial Process Engineer | Manufacturing Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 83.4% Female, 16.6% | Male, 88.8% Female, 11.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.5% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.9% Asian, 13.8% White, 66.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 17.0% White, 62.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 5% |