Mechanical design technician vs project engineer

The differences between mechanical design technicians and project 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 project engineer. Additionally, a project engineer has an average salary of $75,050, 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 project engineer are project management, autocad, and construction management.

Mechanical design technician vs project engineer overview

	Mechanical Design Technician	Project Engineer
Yearly salary	$60,714	$75,050
Hourly rate	$29.19	$36.08
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	62,685	176,689
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Average age	41	41
Years of experience	6	6

Mechanical design technician vs project engineer salary

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

	Mechanical Design Technician	Project Engineer
Average salary	$60,714	$75,050
Salary range	Between $47,000 And $77,000	Between $55,000 And $100,000
Highest paying City	-	Richmond, CA
Highest paying state	-	Washington
Best paying company	-	Apple
Best paying industry	-	Energy

Differences between mechanical design technician and project engineer education

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

	Mechanical Design Technician	Project Engineer
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Most common major	Drafting And Design	Mechanical Engineering
Most common college	Northwestern University	Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mechanical design technician vs project engineer demographics

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

	Mechanical Design Technician	Project Engineer
Average age	41	41
Gender ratio	Male, 89.3% Female, 10.7%	Male, 87.1% Female, 12.9%
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, 3.3% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 14.5% White, 68.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between mechanical design technician and project 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.

Project engineer example responsibilities.

Manage TCP/IP LAN environment for the time during implementation.
Support and manage the development of a CNC base electron beam drill.
Lead a MGPP six sigma project to improve the accuracy of 3D clutch cooling analysis
Manage the BHP enterprise wide migration from e-rooms to SharePoint for document management and team collaboration.
Manage the installation of a CNC laser cutting system with full responsibility for all aspects of the project.
Coordinate and manage activities of the 787-9 IPT's to complete the specific aircraft side of the test cells.

Mechanical design technician vs project engineer skills

Common mechanical design technician skills

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

Common project engineer skills

Project Management, 12%
Autocad, 7%
Construction Management, 6%
CAD, 4%
UL, 4%
Cost Estimates, 3%

Mechanical Design Technician vs. similar jobs

Mechanical Design Technician related careers

Mechanical Design Technician related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Architecture and Engineering Industry
Mechanical Design Technician
Mechanical Design Technician vs Project Engineer

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse architecture and engineering jobs