Mechanical design technician vs product engineer

The differences between mechanical design technicians and product 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 product engineer. Additionally, a product engineer has an average salary of $89,645, 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 product engineer are CAD, product design, and project management.

Mechanical design technician vs product engineer overview

	Mechanical Design Technician	Product Engineer
Yearly salary	$60,714	$89,645
Hourly rate	$29.19	$43.10
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	62,685	157,888
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Average age	41	41
Years of experience	6	6

Mechanical design technician vs product engineer salary

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

	Mechanical Design Technician	Product Engineer
Average salary	$60,714	$89,645
Salary range	Between $47,000 And $77,000	Between $68,000 And $118,000
Highest paying City	-	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	Meta
Best paying industry	-	Technology

Differences between mechanical design technician and product engineer education

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

	Mechanical Design Technician	Product Engineer
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Most common major	Drafting And Design	Mechanical Engineering
Most common college	Northwestern University	Michigan Technological University

Mechanical design technician vs product engineer demographics

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

	Mechanical Design Technician	Product Engineer
Average age	41	41
Gender ratio	Male, 89.3% Female, 10.7%	Male, 87.8% Female, 12.2%
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, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 17.0% White, 67.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between mechanical design technician and product 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.

Product engineer example responsibilities.

Lead team to achieve project objectives and report results to Sr. Management.
Manage outsourced $500k mix mode voice security IC development.
Manage various EHS activities at the Fremont, California facility.
Manage coordination of APQP, component timing, and technical resource allocation for commercial issues.
Manage the manufacturing of defense and aerospace electro-mechanical print circuit boards from prototype to production level.
Sketch concepts (Creo), coordinate prototype builds, provide assembly instructions and troubleshoot build issues.

Mechanical design technician vs product engineer skills

Common mechanical design technician skills

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

Common product engineer skills

CAD, 6%
Product Design, 5%
Project Management, 4%
C++, 4%
Solidworks, 3%
Product Development, 3%

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Mechanical Design Technician
Mechanical Design Technician vs Product Engineer

Updated January 8, 2025

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