Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between product support engineers and process improvement 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 support engineer, becoming a process improvement engineer takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a product support engineer has an average salary of $90,379, which is higher than the $82,473 average annual salary of a process improvement engineer.
The top three skills for a product support engineer include product support, technical support and troubleshoot. The most important skills for a process improvement engineer are lean six sigma, sigma, and project management.
| Product Support Engineer | Process Improvement Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $90,379 | $82,473 |
| Hourly rate | $43.45 | $39.65 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 201,554 | 55,438 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Average age | 41 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 4 |
A product support engineer is responsible for resolving technical issues of end-users regarding the products and services offered by the company. Product support engineers conduct troubleshooting operations for system failures and write resolution reports for reference. They also support the product analysts in improving the product's features and processes to prevent the reoccurrence of defects and maintain optimal performance. A product support engineer designs automation procedures and runs multiple diagnostic tests to ensure high-quality outputs and avoid operational delays.
A process improvement engineer specializes in conducting research and analysis to develop new strategies and ideas to improve the processes in a manufacturing plant or a similar setting. They prioritize efficiency and profitability. Most of the time, engineers participate in a series of meetings where they coordinate with fellow engineers to determine opportunities for product growth and development. Moreover, a process improvement engineer is also responsible for crafting new policies and regulations, upgrading systems, and developing new practices to ensure product quality and customer satisfaction.
Product support engineers and process improvement engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Product Support Engineer | Process Improvement Engineer | |
| Average salary | $90,379 | $82,473 |
| Salary range | Between $67,000 And $121,000 | Between $62,000 And $109,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | California | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Apple | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a product support engineer and a process improvement engineer in terms of educational background:
| Product Support Engineer | Process Improvement Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Business |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | New York University |
Here are the differences between product support engineers' and process improvement engineers' demographics:
| Product Support Engineer | Process Improvement Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 80.7% Female, 19.3% | Male, 63.2% Female, 36.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 13.0% White, 69.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 4.7% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 11.6% Asian, 10.5% White, 69.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 4% |