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Product designer vs inventor

The differences between product designers and inventors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a product designer and an inventor. Additionally, a product designer has an average salary of $102,033, which is higher than the $57,594 average annual salary of an inventor.

The top three skills for a product designer include sketch, visual design and UI. The most important skills for an inventor are CAD, CNC, and R.

Product designer vs inventor overview

Product DesignerInventor
Yearly salary$102,033$57,594
Hourly rate$49.05$27.69
Growth rate3%3%
Number of jobs98,4652,932
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 61%Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Average age4040
Years of experience44

Product designer vs inventor salary

Product designers and inventors have different pay scales, as shown below.

Product DesignerInventor
Average salary$102,033$57,594
Salary rangeBetween $68,000 And $152,000Between $31,000 And $103,000
Highest paying CitySacramento, CANew York, NY
Highest paying stateWashingtonNew York
Best paying companyNetflixAccenture
Best paying industryTechnology-

Differences between product designer and inventor education

There are a few differences between a product designer and an inventor in terms of educational background:

Product DesignerInventor
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 61%Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Most common majorGraphic DesignBusiness
Most common collegeCarnegie Mellon UniversityNorthwestern University

Product designer vs inventor demographics

Here are the differences between product designers' and inventors' demographics:

Product DesignerInventor
Average age4040
Gender ratioMale, 74.2% Female, 25.8%Male, 79.5% Female, 20.5%
Race ratioBlack 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%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 Percentage8%8%

Differences between product designer and inventor duties and responsibilities

Product designer example responsibilities.

  • Manage PDM system, updating technical, fit and design information.
  • Lead front-end QA of all major releases, filing, prioritizing and fixing bugs myself.
  • Manage all aspects of production including QC, packaging needs, and adherence to worldwide product standard protocols.
  • Lead FMEA (failure modes and effects analysis) team and DVP (design verification plan) prove-out for system.
  • Provide responsive html layouts using bootstrap and hand code CSS.
  • Design and develop high-fidelity user interface prototypes in HTML, JavaScript, and VBScript base on product requirements.
  • Show more

Inventor example responsibilities.

  • Manage DR, social media, PPC & SEO on Google & Facebook
  • Manage all aspects of production including QC, packaging needs, and adherence to worldwide product standard protocols.
  • Finish designing and coding a prototype in Java.
  • Create the 3D model and drawings with Solidworks.
  • Used EZIO microcontroller I/O board to interface to computer connect toys.
  • Create data visualization techniques for displaying production analytics data sets for an industrial IoT solution.
  • Show more

Product designer vs inventor skills

Common product designer skills
  • Sketch, 23%
  • Visual Design, 7%
  • UI, 7%
  • User Research, 6%
  • User Experience, 6%
  • Interaction Design, 5%
Common inventor skills
  • CAD, 46%
  • CNC, 33%
  • R, 9%
  • Prototype, 4%
  • Solidworks, 2%
  • Product Concepts, 1%

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