How much money does a product engineer make?

Product engineers make an average of $85,000 in a year. This makes an average hourly pay for a product development engineer just under $40. The salary level for a product development engineer depends on various factors. These factors include experience, education, location, industry, and company. Any person may have numerous unique combinations of these five factors influencing their specific salary.

Is production engineering a good career?

Yes, production engineering is a good career. Production engineering is a well-paying, well-regarded field with a strong career outlook. It is a good career if you enjoy a challenging work environment with individual project work and team interaction. A production engineer has a high level of career satisfaction and generally stays in the profession long-term.

Is production engineering in demand?

Yes, production engineering is in high demand, and that demand is only expected to increase over the next ten years. The overall job outlook for production engineer careers has been positive since 2004.

What degree do you need to be a production engineer?

The minimum degree requirement to become a production engineer is a bachelor's degree. Students who wish to become production engineers typically pursue degrees in mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, electrical engineering, or related engineering fields of study.

How To Become A Production Engineer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a production engineer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Andrea Welker Ph.D.,

Rick Wise Ph.D.

If you find the right product that satisfies you, according to your needs, you better say thank you to the production engineers. Producing a budget-friendly and well-designed product with constantly rising production costs is not possible without them. They work 40-60 hours every week to ensure that the production operations and processes function smoothly.

They use raw material in a low-cost manner to manufacture outstanding products that earn marvelous profits. They also have to improve and supervise production at industries, factories, and plants. Some of their key duties include developing strategies to improve yield and efficiency, supporting engineering teams, reporting issues to high authorities, and drawing up safety protocols.

Bachelors and Master's degrees in mechanical or chemical engineering prepare you for making a career out of production engineering. It is a comparatively highly paid job that can enable you to make about $44.91 every hour. Industries like plastic, automotive, garment, and electronic industries tend to look for passionate professionals.

What general advice would you give to a production engineer?

Andrea Welker Ph.D.

Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, College of Engineering Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Villanova University

Be open to new experiences. Find a good mentor. Become a valued employee. Always remember that you are designing something for someone.

ScoreProduction EngineerUS Average

Salary

7.0

Avg. Salary $89,727

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.5

Growth rate 10%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.17%

Asian 15.42%

Black or African American 4.28%

Hispanic or Latino 10.51%

Unknown 3.88%

White 65.74%

Gender

female 13.33%

male 86.67%

Age - 41

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 41

Stress level

7.5

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.3

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.1

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a production engineer

Explore production engineer education requirements

Most common production engineer degrees

Bachelor's

76.0 %

Master's

9.4 %

Associate

8.5 %

Start to develop specific production engineer skills

Skills	Percentages
Java	9.03%
Continuous Improvement	7.44%
Lean Manufacturing	5.27%
Sigma	4.22%
Technical Support	3.90%

Complete relevant production engineer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New production engineers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a production engineer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real production engineer resumes.

Research production engineer duties and responsibilities

Prepare tooling and gauging for CNC turning centers, manage the tooling cabinets, and rapport with vendors for tool sharpening.
Complete DMAIC project and 8D that lead to the resolution of vibration issue, project result in a $2M save.
Lead work cells to become a team; Harmonize/unite/motivate assembly personnel using Kaizen approach.
Lead several independent, cross-functional projects and improve manufacturing quality, reduce cost, ensure environment are supported and FDA compliant.

Prepare your production engineer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your production engineer resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a production engineer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

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