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The differences between pharmaceutical engineers and product development engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a pharmaceutical engineer, becoming a product development engineer takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a product development engineer has an average salary of $86,075, which is higher than the $84,592 average annual salary of a pharmaceutical engineer.
The top three skills for a pharmaceutical engineer include PLC, process improvement and FDA. The most important skills for a product development engineer are CAD, solidworks, and product development.
| Pharmaceutical Engineer | Product Development Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $84,592 | $86,075 |
| Hourly rate | $40.67 | $41.38 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 38,658 | 202,155 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 6 |
Pharmaceutical engineers and product development engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Pharmaceutical Engineer | Product Development Engineer | |
| Average salary | $84,592 | $86,075 |
| Salary range | Between $58,000 And $121,000 | Between $64,000 And $113,000 |
| Highest paying City | Foster City, CA | Sunnyvale, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | Gilead Sciences | Amazon |
| Best paying industry | - | Technology |
There are a few differences between a pharmaceutical engineer and a product development engineer in terms of educational background:
| Pharmaceutical Engineer | Product Development Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Most common major | Chemical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between pharmaceutical engineers' and product development engineers' demographics:
| Pharmaceutical Engineer | Product Development Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 66.7% Female, 33.3% | Male, 86.8% Female, 13.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.6% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 10.5% White, 73.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 16.7% White, 67.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 5% |