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The differences between junior design engineers and junior developers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a junior design engineer, becoming a junior developer takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a junior developer has an average salary of $75,006, which is higher than the $59,383 average annual salary of a junior design engineer.
The top three skills for a junior design engineer include engineering drawings, solidworks and auto cad. The most important skills for a junior developer are java, C++, and javascript.
| Junior Design Engineer | Junior Developer | |
| Yearly salary | $59,383 | $75,006 |
| Hourly rate | $28.55 | $36.06 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 122,180 | 259,820 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Average age | 41 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 4 |
Junior Design Engineers are responsible for providing design assistance and administrative engineering support for an organization. Their duties include designing 3-dimensional models and prototypes, producing detailed drawings, assisting in tender proposal submissions, and documentation for product compliance. They are responsible for managing product literature and crib sheets and generating bills of material (BOM). Junior design engineers also assist in defining product specifications and liaise with stakeholders to obtain design approval. They must possess knowledge in using design software such as AutoCAD, Visualize, and Solidworks.
A junior developer is an individual with an entry-level position that is hired by an information technology (IT) company to work with its development team to write and maintain code for computer applications. Being an entry-level position, junior developers are required to learn the codebase and gain experience from working on large projects. They attend and participate in meetings conducted by the development team to discuss issues with other developers. Junior developers must also participate in paired programming with mid-level and senior developers.
Junior design engineers and junior developers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Junior Design Engineer | Junior Developer | |
| Average salary | $59,383 | $75,006 |
| Salary range | Between $40,000 And $86,000 | Between $56,000 And $99,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Jose, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Washington |
| Best paying company | Micron Technology | Atlassian |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Finance |
There are a few differences between a junior design engineer and a junior developer in terms of educational background:
| Junior Design Engineer | Junior Developer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between junior design engineers' and junior developers' demographics:
| Junior Design Engineer | Junior Developer | |
| Average age | 41 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 87.2% Female, 12.8% | Male, 75.9% Female, 24.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 16.9% White, 67.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 4.6% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 8.4% Asian, 29.8% White, 52.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 8% |