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The differences between metallurgical engineers and product engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a product engineer has an average salary of $89,645, which is higher than the $82,916 average annual salary of a metallurgical engineer.
The top three skills for a metallurgical engineer include aluminum, failure analysis and corrective action. The most important skills for a product engineer are CAD, product design, and project management.
| Metallurgical Engineer | Product Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $82,916 | $89,645 |
| Hourly rate | $39.86 | $43.10 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 34,491 | 157,888 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 76% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | - | 6 |
A metallurgical engineer is responsible for evaluating the chemical and physical properties of alloys and metallic materials to be used for construction and other industrial purposes. Metallurgical engineers also design metals for automobile upgrades and designing alloys for electronics. They create cost-reduction initiative reports and improve extraction methodologies, supervising quality control procedures for high-quality deliverables. A metallurgical engineer inspects the quality of tools and equipment for the operations, strictly adhering to the safety standards and protocols of the organization to avoid potential hazards and delays in the workplace.
A product engineer specializes in designing and developing commercial materials and services. They are primarily responsible for conducting thorough research and analysis of the latest trends and marketing conditions to come up with new ideas and products for the public. Moreover, they are also responsible for producing reports and presentations, coordinating with the development team of their company. Product engineers also reach out to vendors and suppliers for the raw materials, set regulations and standards for the product, and even conduct a rigorous and regular quality check.
Metallurgical engineers and product engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Metallurgical Engineer | Product Engineer | |
| Average salary | $82,916 | $89,645 |
| Salary range | Between $63,000 And $107,000 | Between $68,000 And $118,000 |
| Highest paying City | Hayward, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | Tesoro | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Technology |
There are a few differences between a metallurgical engineer and a product engineer in terms of educational background:
| Metallurgical Engineer | Product Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 76% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Most common major | Metallurgical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | University of Washington | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between metallurgical engineers' and product engineers' demographics:
| Metallurgical Engineer | Product Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 83.8% Female, 16.2% | Male, 87.8% Female, 12.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 2.0% Unknown, 3.5% Hispanic or Latino, 8.0% Asian, 19.2% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | 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 | 10% | 5% |