Mechanical design technician vs mechanical design engineer

The differences between mechanical design technicians and mechanical design engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a mechanical design technician and a mechanical design engineer. Additionally, a mechanical design engineer has an average salary of $75,821, which is higher than the $60,714 average annual salary of a mechanical design technician.

The top three skills for a mechanical design technician include CAD, revit and fire protection. The most important skills for a mechanical design engineer are CAD, mechanical design, and GD.

Mechanical design technician vs mechanical design engineer overview

	Mechanical Design Technician	Mechanical Design Engineer
Yearly salary	$60,714	$75,821
Hourly rate	$29.19	$36.45
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	62,685	120,258
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Average age	41	41
Years of experience	6	6

Mechanical design technician vs mechanical design engineer salary

Mechanical design technicians and mechanical design engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Mechanical Design Technician	Mechanical Design Engineer
Average salary	$60,714	$75,821
Salary range	Between $47,000 And $77,000	Between $59,000 And $96,000
Highest paying City	-	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	Meta
Best paying industry	-	Automotive

Differences between mechanical design technician and mechanical design engineer education

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

	Mechanical Design Technician	Mechanical Design Engineer
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Most common major	Drafting And Design	Mechanical Engineering
Most common college	Northwestern University	Michigan Technological University

Mechanical design technician vs mechanical design engineer demographics

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

	Mechanical Design Technician	Mechanical Design Engineer
Average age	41	41
Gender ratio	Male, 89.3% Female, 10.7%	Male, 91.9% Female, 8.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.2% Asian, 10.4% White, 72.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%	Black or African American, 3.2% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 8.2% Asian, 16.4% White, 67.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between mechanical design technician and mechanical design engineer duties and responsibilities

Mechanical design technician example responsibilities.

Provide mechanical design and sustaining engineering expertise to troubleshoot manufacturing defect trends and achieve a more robust and producible product.
Design and model changes to drawings for support of fabrication and installation of HVAC, plumbing and major commercial/industrial/residential pipe systems.
Engineer air-conditioning, heating, refrigeration, plumbing, and electrical power supply for renovate building spaces.
Convert and clean-up architectural background drawings and establish mechanical and plumbing drawings.
Create BOM for the lines; compose design documentation utilizing technical drawings and engineering specifications.
Design and manufacture documentation for custom smart power distribution products including customer specifications and vendor BOM's.

Mechanical design engineer example responsibilities.

Manage installation and troubleshooting documents for ultra precision CNC grinding machines.
Manage the successful release to manufacturing of several generations of Ethernet switches.
Engineer, manage and implement configuration and installation of complex Ethernet network backbones.
Manage automation projects including purchasing, scheduling fabrication and assembly, debugging, and delivery to customer.
Provide mechanical design and sustaining engineering expertise to troubleshoot manufacturing defect trends and achieve a more robust and producible product.
Supervise product development in coherence with UL standards and manufacturers.

Mechanical design technician vs mechanical design engineer skills

Common mechanical design technician skills

CAD, 17%
Revit, 10%
Fire Protection, 9%
Solidworks, 8%
Assembly Drawings, 6%
BIM, 6%

Common mechanical design engineer skills

CAD, 14%
Mechanical Design, 12%
GD, 5%
Creo, 5%
FEA, 4%
UL, 3%

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Mechanical Design Technician
Mechanical Design Technician vs Mechanical Design Engineer

Updated January 8, 2025

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