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The differences between machine designers and senior mechanical designers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a machine designer and a senior mechanical designer. Additionally, a senior mechanical designer has an average salary of $103,765, which is higher than the $69,937 average annual salary of a machine designer.
The top three skills for a machine designer include solidworks, machine design and autocad. The most important skills for a senior mechanical designer are CAD, mechanical design, and GD.
| Machine Designer | Senior Mechanical Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $69,937 | $103,765 |
| Hourly rate | $33.62 | $49.89 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 81,897 | 71,958 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 48% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A mechanical designer creates and draws different designs for pieces of machinery and other equipment. They are often patterned with engineers and other related professionals to create a variety of types of machinery. Typically they work in an office setting, with the majority at architecture, manufacturing, and engineering firms. They may also be the person who develops and provides layout designs for customers and clients. A person who is creative, has a background in product development, and possesses analytic skills may be a great fit for the job.
A Senior Mechanical Designer is responsible for creating effective mechanical designs for their company and developing mechanical concepts in accordance with project requirements. They assist the engineering manager in coaching other mechanical engineers to develop design skills.
Machine designers and senior mechanical designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Machine Designer | Senior Mechanical Designer | |
| Average salary | $69,937 | $103,765 |
| Salary range | Between $48,000 And $100,000 | Between $81,000 And $131,000 |
| Highest paying City | Santa Ana, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Energy Inc. | |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a machine designer and a senior mechanical designer in terms of educational background:
| Machine Designer | Senior Mechanical Designer | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 48% |
| Most common major | Drafting And Design | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Carnegie Mellon University | Carnegie Mellon University |
Here are the differences between machine designers' and senior mechanical designers' demographics:
| Machine Designer | Senior Mechanical Designer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 94.6% Female, 5.4% | Male, 94.1% Female, 5.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.5% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.9% Asian, 10.2% White, 71.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.3% Asian, 11.4% White, 71.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |