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Plumbing designer vs senior mechanical designer

The differences between plumbing designers and senior mechanical designers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a plumbing designer and a senior mechanical designer. Additionally, a senior mechanical designer has an average salary of $103,765, which is higher than the $61,468 average annual salary of a plumbing designer.

The top three skills for a plumbing designer include revit, plumbing and fire protection. The most important skills for a senior mechanical designer are CAD, mechanical design, and GD.

Plumbing designer vs senior mechanical designer overview

Plumbing DesignerSenior Mechanical Designer
Yearly salary$61,468$103,765
Hourly rate$29.55$49.89
Growth rate2%2%
Number of jobs44,97571,958
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 42%Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Average age4141
Years of experience66

What does a plumbing designer do?

Plumbing Designers are responsible for developing plumbing and drainage systems for residential or commercial areas. Their duties include providing design specifications to clients, producing schematics, achieving key performance metrics, and conducting quality assurance assessments. They contribute technical content for marketing purposes, sourcing equipment, and guiding internal departments on installation procedures. Plumbing Designers also prepare client proposals, supervise junior staff, and provide staff training sessions.

What does a senior mechanical designer do?

A Senior Mechanical Designer is responsible for creating effective mechanical designs for their company and developing mechanical concepts in accordance with project requirements. They assist the engineering manager in coaching other mechanical engineers to develop design skills.

Plumbing designer vs senior mechanical designer salary

Plumbing designers and senior mechanical designers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Plumbing DesignerSenior Mechanical Designer
Average salary$61,468$103,765
Salary rangeBetween $43,000 And $85,000Between $81,000 And $131,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateConnecticutCalifornia
Best paying companyBelcanGoogle
Best paying industryConstructionAutomotive

Differences between plumbing designer and senior mechanical designer education

There are a few differences between a plumbing designer and a senior mechanical designer in terms of educational background:

Plumbing DesignerSenior Mechanical Designer
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 42%Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Most common majorDrafting And DesignMechanical Engineering
Most common collegeCarnegie Mellon UniversityCarnegie Mellon University

Plumbing designer vs senior mechanical designer demographics

Here are the differences between plumbing designers' and senior mechanical designers' demographics:

Plumbing DesignerSenior Mechanical Designer
Average age4141
Gender ratioMale, 87.4% Female, 12.6%Male, 94.1% Female, 5.9%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 10.3% White, 72.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.3% Asian, 11.4% White, 71.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage5%5%

Differences between plumbing designer and senior mechanical designer duties and responsibilities

Plumbing designer example responsibilities.

  • Lead the development of BIM modeling content for the architecture team as a direct report to the executive and lead architects.
  • Provide reports, coordination of shop drawings, review between MEP and structural.
  • Create plans from schematic design through construction documents using AutoCad and Revit for all MEP systems.
  • Generate BIM plans for clients, as well as AUTOCADD drawings.
  • Create sketch sheets to answer RFI's and construction conflicts.
  • Update HVAC drawings for reference book used by installers to be hand out at a conference.
  • Show more

Senior mechanical designer example responsibilities.

  • Lead FPGA development of key digital communication component used in successful demonstration of spacecraft radio link.
  • Create and modify very large assemblies in Creo which are used to create drawings for top level spacecraft assemblies.
  • Generate fabrication and assembly drawings for fabrication of commercial/Industrial water heaters and boilers base on ISO 9000 and AWA standards.
  • Perform complex interference fit checks, motion studies, and tolerance stack-up analysis on large assemblies using Pro/E - Creo software.
  • Verify all design factors including performance, tolerances, fitting, materials, surface finish and BOM for components and systems.
  • Improve dynamic response of microscope using ANSYS vibration simulation.
  • Show more

Plumbing designer vs senior mechanical designer skills

Common plumbing designer skills
  • Revit, 20%
  • Plumbing, 18%
  • Fire Protection, 15%
  • MEP, 7%
  • HVAC, 5%
  • Water Systems, 3%
Common senior mechanical designer skills
  • CAD, 12%
  • Mechanical Design, 11%
  • GD, 5%
  • Creo, 5%
  • Autocad, 4%
  • FEA, 4%

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