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The differences between product design engineers and system design 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 system design engineer takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a system design engineer has an average salary of $107,704, which is higher than the $94,827 average annual salary of a product design engineer.
The top three skills for a product design engineer include CAD, mechanical design and GD. The most important skills for a system design engineer are system design, architecture, and MATLAB.
| Product Design Engineer | System Design Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $94,827 | $107,704 |
| Hourly rate | $45.59 | $51.78 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 170,485 | 113,582 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Average age | 41 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 2 |
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 system design engineer is an individual who participates in system design engineering and resolves manufacturing and service problems. System design engineers are required to collaborate with the system design team to research emerging technologies and develop new capabilities. They create design layouts by utilizing the use of CAD software such as AutoCad as well as supervise a group of CAD technicians. System design engineers must also provide customer service in the field and deliver individualized problem solving and system design support
Product design engineers and system design engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Product Design Engineer | System Design Engineer | |
| Average salary | $94,827 | $107,704 |
| Salary range | Between $69,000 And $129,000 | Between $77,000 And $149,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Mateo, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a product design engineer and a system design engineer in terms of educational background:
| Product Design Engineer | System Design Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Michigan Technological University | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between product design engineers' and system design engineers' demographics:
| Product Design Engineer | System Design Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 90.9% Female, 9.1% | Male, 91.2% Female, 8.8% |
| 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, 4.9% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 11.4% Asian, 15.4% White, 63.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 6% |