Materials engineering technician vs mechanical engineer

The differences between materials engineering technicians and mechanical engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a mechanical engineer has an average salary of $75,352, which is higher than the $73,313 average annual salary of a materials engineering technician.

The top three skills for a materials engineering technician include asphalt, ACI and test results. The most important skills for a mechanical engineer are CAD, solidworks, and mechanical systems.

Materials engineering technician vs mechanical engineer overview

	Materials Engineering Technician	Mechanical Engineer
Yearly salary	$73,313	$75,352
Hourly rate	$35.25	$36.23
Growth rate	3%	2%
Number of jobs	99,411	105,618
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 50%	Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Average age	45	41
Years of experience	-	6

Materials engineering technician vs mechanical engineer salary

Materials engineering technicians and mechanical engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Materials Engineering Technician	Mechanical Engineer
Average salary	$73,313	$75,352
Salary range	Between $52,000 And $101,000	Between $58,000 And $97,000
Highest paying City	Palo Alto, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	Washington
Best paying company	Tesla	Meta
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Energy

Differences between materials engineering technician and mechanical engineer education

There are a few differences between a materials engineering technician and a mechanical engineer in terms of educational background:

	Materials Engineering Technician	Mechanical Engineer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 50%	Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Most common major	Chemistry	Mechanical Engineering
Most common college	Pennsylvania State University	Michigan Technological University

Materials engineering technician vs mechanical engineer demographics

Here are the differences between materials engineering technicians' and mechanical engineers' demographics:

	Materials Engineering Technician	Mechanical Engineer
Average age	45	41
Gender ratio	Male, 80.3% Female, 19.7%	Male, 90.6% Female, 9.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.0% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 15.8% Asian, 11.5% White, 58.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 16.6% White, 68.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage	6%	5%

Differences between materials engineering technician and mechanical engineer duties and responsibilities

Materials engineering technician example responsibilities.

Manage and distribute cad standards to contributing design consultants and assist with any design issues as necessary.
Perform construction material testing on asphalt, concrete, soil and aggregate specimens both in the field and in the laboratory.
Assist in geotechnical field investigations and operate geoprobe rig.
Direct inbound and outbound logistics operations, such as transportation and warehouse activities, safety performance, and logistics quality management.
Work on non-classify and highly-classify scientific instruments using certify NASA soldering procedures.

Mechanical engineer example responsibilities.

Manage machine shop and Sr. Machinist/Toolmaker.
Lead the implementation of Syteline MRP software.
Manage component work orders and failure test scheduling to parts as per DFMEA with design team.
Use of PLM software tools such as WindChill to manage data, revisions, iterations and approvals.
Lead a brainstorming session for review with supplier & management and follow through the successful implementation of a corrective action.
Attain SolidWorks CSWP certification and maintaining proficiency within CREO & AutoCad

Materials engineering technician vs mechanical engineer skills

Common materials engineering technician skills

Asphalt, 16%
ACI, 9%
Test Results, 8%
ASTM, 8%
Construction Materials, 7%
Failure Analysis, 6%

Common mechanical engineer skills

CAD, 10%
Solidworks, 9%
Mechanical Systems, 6%
Mechanical Design, 5%
HVAC, 5%
Plumbing, 4%

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Materials Engineering Technician
Materials Engineering Technician vs Mechanical Engineer

Updated January 8, 2025

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