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The differences between industrial process engineers and project lead engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an industrial process engineer and a project lead engineer. Additionally, a project lead engineer has an average salary of $106,946, 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 project lead engineer are project management, renewable energy, and project execution.
| Industrial Process Engineer | Project Lead Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $73,891 | $106,946 |
| Hourly rate | $35.52 | $51.42 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 59,144 | 98,018 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
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.
Project lead engineers are engineering professionals who are responsible for leading other professionals in completing a particular project. These engineers must develop a project management framework to be implemented throughout the organization based on the inputs from internal stakeholders and team members. They are required to train junior team members so that they can provide proper technical support functions. Project lead engineers must also prepare and review cost estimates for a variety of projects during bidding, construction, and post-construction phases.
Industrial process engineers and project lead engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Industrial Process Engineer | Project Lead Engineer | |
| Average salary | $73,891 | $106,946 |
| Salary range | Between $58,000 And $94,000 | Between $78,000 And $146,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Cupertino, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | NVIDIA | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Automotive |
There are a few differences between an industrial process engineer and a project lead engineer in terms of educational background:
| Industrial Process Engineer | Project Lead Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Most common major | Industrial Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between industrial process engineers' and project lead engineers' demographics:
| Industrial Process Engineer | Project Lead Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 83.4% Female, 16.6% | Male, 86.8% Female, 13.2% |
| 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, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 15.2% White, 66.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 4% |