Mold designer vs design engineer

The differences between mold designers and 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 mold designer and a design engineer. Additionally, a design engineer has an average salary of $77,134, which is higher than the $70,906 average annual salary of a mold designer.

The top three skills for a mold designer include mold design, plastic injection molds and NX. The most important skills for a design engineer are C++, UL, and project management.

Mold designer vs design engineer overview

	Mold Designer	Design Engineer
Yearly salary	$70,906	$77,134
Hourly rate	$34.09	$37.08
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	50,597	138,173
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Average age	41	41
Years of experience	6	6

Mold designer vs design engineer salary

Mold designers and design engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Mold Designer	Design Engineer
Average salary	$70,906	$77,134
Salary range	Between $47,000 And $105,000	Between $57,000 And $102,000
Highest paying City	-	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	Meta
Best paying industry	-	Technology

Differences between mold designer and design engineer education

There are a few differences between a mold designer and a design engineer in terms of educational background:

	Mold Designer	Design Engineer
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Most common major	Drafting And Design	Mechanical Engineering
Most common college	Carnegie Mellon University	Michigan Technological University

Mold designer vs design engineer demographics

Here are the differences between mold designers' and design engineers' demographics:

	Mold Designer	Design Engineer
Average age	41	41
Gender ratio	Male, 93.4% Female, 6.6%	Male, 88.9% Female, 11.1%
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, 16.8% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between mold designer and design engineer duties and responsibilities

Mold designer example responsibilities.

Manage documentation of existing projects, perform ECN resolutions.
Design and automate electro-mechanical machinery to customer specifications.
Design and automate electro-mechanical machinery to customer specifications.

Design engineer example responsibilities.

Utilize CREO surfacing to achieve stylize toilets and components.
Lead innovative cost reduction activities for MBD which lead to industry wide changes.
Develop software in MATLAB & LabVIEW to post-process data, analyze images, and automate test modules.
Participate in new product design reviews, lead DFM sessions with suppliers, and develop part specifications.
Validate specifications that achieve function requirements and Honda standards using FTA, FMEA, simulation, design logic & team collaboration.
Develop tools using Perl script to automate integration/verification process.

Mold designer vs design engineer skills

Common mold designer skills

Mold Design, 16%
Plastic Injection Molds, 15%
NX, 7%
Aided Design, 6%
Autocad, 5%
CNC Machines, 5%

Common design engineer skills

C++, 4%
UL, 4%
Project Management, 4%
Work Ethic, 4%
Engineering Design, 4%
RF, 3%