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Pharmaceutical engineer vs research and development engineer

The differences between pharmaceutical engineers and research and 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 research and development engineer takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a research and development engineer has an average salary of $100,169, 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 research and development engineer are python, R, and solidworks.

Pharmaceutical engineer vs research and development engineer overview

Pharmaceutical EngineerResearch And Development Engineer
Yearly salary$84,592$100,169
Hourly rate$40.67$48.16
Growth rate10%2%
Number of jobs38,658187,910
Job satisfaction55
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 75%Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Average age4241
Years of experience46

Pharmaceutical engineer vs research and development engineer salary

Pharmaceutical engineers and research and development engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Pharmaceutical EngineerResearch And Development Engineer
Average salary$84,592$100,169
Salary rangeBetween $58,000 And $121,000Between $74,000 And $135,000
Highest paying CityFoster City, CASanta Rosa, CA
Highest paying stateWashingtonCalifornia
Best paying companyGilead SciencesMeta
Best paying industry-Technology

Differences between pharmaceutical engineer and research and development engineer education

There are a few differences between a pharmaceutical engineer and a research and development engineer in terms of educational background:

Pharmaceutical EngineerResearch And Development Engineer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 75%Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Most common majorChemical EngineeringMechanical Engineering
Most common collegeUniversity of Michigan - Ann ArborMassachusetts Institute of Technology

Pharmaceutical engineer vs research and development engineer demographics

Here are the differences between pharmaceutical engineers' and research and development engineers' demographics:

Pharmaceutical EngineerResearch And Development Engineer
Average age4241
Gender ratioMale, 66.7% Female, 33.3%Male, 85.2% Female, 14.8%
Race ratioBlack 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, 67.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage4%5%

Differences between pharmaceutical engineer and research and development engineer duties and responsibilities

Pharmaceutical engineer example responsibilities.

  • Manage overall validation programs for the GMP products at the manufacturing facility and the contract manufacturing company.
  • Participate in regulatory agency inspections (FDA, EU) as a subject matter expert and minimize findings.
  • Develop skills in process change control, aseptic technique and gowning, validation, FDA audits and writing manufacturing tickets.
  • Prepare installation qualification, operational qualification, and performance qualification (IQ/OQ/PQ) protocols and reports.
  • Expedite and simplify the quotation process for solar water heating systems by accurately representing solar water heating system performance through MATLAB models
  • Provide plant technical input for all modifications affecting EQ equipment.
  • Show more

Research and development engineer example responsibilities.

  • Manage, design, and assist in development of product family reusable code libraries, visualization and GUI components.
  • Manage test suite jobs for the team creating configurations and building binaries for C++ code using Jenkins and bash shell.
  • Charge with managing a range of key operational functions in support of 3D visualization studio with $1.3M in annual contracts.
  • Lead a team of software QA test engineers in the prioritization and assignment of tasks and the solving of technical problems.
  • Manage quality issues during development/production and ensure ISO compliance.
  • Manage and maintain production equipment, including conformance to ISO calibration requirements.
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Pharmaceutical engineer vs research and development engineer skills

Common pharmaceutical engineer skills
  • PLC, 28%
  • Process Improvement, 26%
  • FDA, 17%
  • API, 10%
  • Process Equipment, 10%
  • Sops, 3%
Common research and development engineer skills
  • Python, 7%
  • R, 6%
  • Solidworks, 5%
  • CAD, 5%
  • Data Analysis, 4%
  • Patients, 4%

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