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The differences between product design engineers and industrial designers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a product design engineer, becoming an industrial designer takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a product design engineer has an average salary of $94,827, which is higher than the $63,384 average annual salary of an industrial designer.
The top three skills for a product design engineer include CAD, mechanical design and GD. The most important skills for an industrial designer are industrial design, solidworks, and CAD.
| Product Design Engineer | Industrial Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $94,827 | $63,384 |
| Hourly rate | $45.59 | $30.47 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 170,485 | 54,012 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 83% |
| Average age | 41 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 4 |
A Product Design Engineer designs new products that customers will want to purchase. They are responsible for designing, modeling, and testing prototypes for products.
Industrial Designers work with clients to conceptualize product ideas. They collaborate with clients in creating product blueprints, samples, and mock-ups. Industrial Designers create drafts based on the clients' ideas, keeping in mind the different requirements as well as aesthetic qualities that the clients envision. They usually specialize in a specific product category such as toys, furniture, and cars, among others. Industrial Designers also collaborate with other professionals such as manufacturers, materials experts, safety experts, and other product makers to ensure the feasibility and the product safety of the concepts they come up with.
Product design engineers and industrial designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Product Design Engineer | Industrial Designer | |
| Average salary | $94,827 | $63,384 |
| Salary range | Between $69,000 And $129,000 | Between $43,000 And $92,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Mateo, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Washington |
| Best paying company | Meta | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a product design engineer and an industrial designer in terms of educational background:
| Product Design Engineer | Industrial Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 83% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | Michigan Technological University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between product design engineers' and industrial designers' demographics:
| Product Design Engineer | Industrial Designer | |
| Average age | 41 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 90.9% Female, 9.1% | Male, 81.4% Female, 18.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.2% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 8.2% Asian, 16.2% White, 67.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 1.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.3% Asian, 10.1% White, 76.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 8% |