Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between product engineers and production 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 engineer, becoming a production engineer takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a production engineer has an average salary of $89,727, which is higher than the $89,645 average annual salary of a product engineer.
The top three skills for a product engineer include CAD, product design and project management. The most important skills for a production engineer are java, continuous improvement, and lean manufacturing.
| Product Engineer | Production Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $89,645 | $89,727 |
| Hourly rate | $43.10 | $43.14 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 157,888 | 94,789 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 76% |
| Average age | 41 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 4 |
A product engineer specializes in designing and developing commercial materials and services. They are primarily responsible for conducting thorough research and analysis of the latest trends and marketing conditions to come up with new ideas and products for the public. Moreover, they are also responsible for producing reports and presentations, coordinating with the development team of their company. Product engineers also reach out to vendors and suppliers for the raw materials, set regulations and standards for the product, and even conduct a rigorous and regular quality check.
A production engineer is responsible for monitoring the production operations, ensuring everyone's adherence to safety protocols, and evaluating the staff's performance, strategizing on maximizing productivity to deliver efficient results that would drive revenues and increase profitability. Production engineers inspect the reliability of production equipment and machinery, conducting preventive maintenance, and repair inconsistencies to prevent production delays. They also identify areas of improvement with the manufacturing processes and escalate best practices for improvement. A production engineer must be knowledgeable about technological advancements and incorporate ideas to minimize costs without sacrificing the quality of services.
Product engineers and production engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Product Engineer | Production Engineer | |
| Average salary | $89,645 | $89,727 |
| Salary range | Between $68,000 And $118,000 | Between $64,000 And $125,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | Cheniere Energy |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a product engineer and a production engineer in terms of educational background:
| Product Engineer | Production Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 76% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Michigan Technological University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between product engineers' and production engineers' demographics:
| Product Engineer | Production Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 87.8% Female, 12.2% | Male, 86.7% Female, 13.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 17.0% White, 67.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.5% Asian, 15.4% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 4% |