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The differences between marine engineers and design engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes More than 10 years to become a marine engineer, becoming a design engineer takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a marine engineer has an average salary of $101,152, which is higher than the $77,134 average annual salary of a design engineer.
The top three skills for a marine engineer include marine engineering, autocad and HVAC. The most important skills for a design engineer are C++, UL, and project management.
| Marine Engineer | Design Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $101,152 | $77,134 |
| Hourly rate | $48.63 | $37.08 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 11,675 | 138,173 |
| Job satisfaction | 3.33 | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | - | 6 |
Marine engineers are licensed engineers who specialize in designing marine infrastructure. These marine infrastructure or vessels are usually naval ships, sailboats, cruise ships, tankers, or even submarines. Marine engineers draft plans for these vessels. They take into consideration the various sciences involved in building these ships. Marine engineers need to have a good grasp of physics, statistics, and other sciences that they need to craft a vessel. Marine engineers also create designs for controls and other mechanisms. They oversee the building process and ensure that the vessels are working properly.
A design engineer is responsible for creating systems and applications based on their expertise. Design engineers work through client specifications based on business needs. A design engineer also provides recommendations on improving existing systems to boost its performance and increase efficiency. Design engineers must have an excellent command of computer systems, programming codes, and technical data to ensure the system's stability and high-quality processes. A design engineer should also have strong analytical and time-management skills to perform tasks and meet deadlines.
Marine engineers and design engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Marine Engineer | Design Engineer | |
| Average salary | $101,152 | $77,134 |
| Salary range | Between $69,000 And $147,000 | Between $57,000 And $102,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Rafael, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Texas | California |
| Best paying company | Chevron | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a marine engineer and a design engineer in terms of educational background:
| Marine Engineer | Design Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Most common major | Marine Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between marine engineers' and design engineers' demographics:
| Marine Engineer | Design Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 91.5% Female, 8.5% | Male, 88.9% Female, 11.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.4% Unknown, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 7.5% Asian, 7.1% White, 72.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% | Black or African American, 3.2% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 8.2% Asian, 16.8% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 5% |