Mold designer vs mechanical engineer

The differences between mold designers and mechanical 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 mechanical engineer. Additionally, a mechanical engineer has an average salary of $75,352, 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 mechanical engineer are CAD, solidworks, and mechanical systems.

Mold designer vs mechanical engineer overview

	Mold Designer	Mechanical Engineer
Yearly salary	$70,906	$75,352
Hourly rate	$34.09	$36.23
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	50,597	105,618
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Average age	41	41
Years of experience	6	6

Mold designer vs mechanical engineer salary

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

	Mold Designer	Mechanical Engineer
Average salary	$70,906	$75,352
Salary range	Between $47,000 And $105,000	Between $58,000 And $97,000
Highest paying City	-	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	-	Washington
Best paying company	-	Meta
Best paying industry	-	Energy

Differences between mold designer and mechanical engineer education

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

	Mold Designer	Mechanical Engineer
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Most common major	Drafting And Design	Mechanical Engineering
Most common college	Carnegie Mellon University	Michigan Technological University

Mold designer vs mechanical engineer demographics

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

	Mold Designer	Mechanical Engineer
Average age	41	41
Gender ratio	Male, 93.4% Female, 6.6%	Male, 90.6% Female, 9.4%
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, 7.8% Asian, 16.6% White, 68.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between mold designer and mechanical 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.

Mechanical engineer example responsibilities.

Manage machine shop and Sr. Machinist/Toolmaker.
Lead the implementation of Syteline MRP software.
Manage component work orders and failure test scheduling to parts as per DFMEA with design team.
Use of PLM software tools such as WindChill to manage data, revisions, iterations and approvals.
Lead a brainstorming session for review with supplier & management and follow through the successful implementation of a corrective action.
Attain SolidWorks CSWP certification and maintaining proficiency within CREO & AutoCad

Mold designer vs mechanical engineer skills

Common mold designer skills

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

Common mechanical engineer skills

CAD, 10%
Solidworks, 9%
Mechanical Systems, 6%
Mechanical Design, 5%
HVAC, 5%
Plumbing, 4%