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The differences between product design engineers and packaging engineers 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 a packaging engineer takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a product design engineer has an average salary of $94,827, which is higher than the $88,452 average annual salary of a packaging engineer.
The top three skills for a product design engineer include CAD, mechanical design and GD. The most important skills for a packaging engineer are CAD, project management, and solidworks.
| Product Design Engineer | Packaging Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $94,827 | $88,452 |
| Hourly rate | $45.59 | $42.52 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 170,485 | 54,028 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 79% |
| Average age | 41 | 42 |
| 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.
A Packaging Engineer plans and implements packaging designs to ensure product integrity and appeal. Their primary duties include supervising and managing the complete packaging development process, analyzing engineering drawings, and conducting periodic vendor reviews.
Product design engineers and packaging engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Product Design Engineer | Packaging Engineer | |
| Average salary | $94,827 | $88,452 |
| Salary range | Between $69,000 And $129,000 | Between $65,000 And $118,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Mateo, CA | Santa Rosa, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a product design engineer and a packaging engineer in terms of educational background:
| Product Design Engineer | Packaging Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 79% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Engineering And Industrial Management |
| Most common college | Michigan Technological University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between product design engineers' and packaging engineers' demographics:
| Product Design Engineer | Packaging Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 90.9% Female, 9.1% | Male, 77.1% Female, 22.9% |
| 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, 4.6% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 11.2% Asian, 13.1% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 4% |