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The differences between production engineers and chemical engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a production engineer has an average salary of $89,727, which is higher than the $89,449 average annual salary of a chemical engineer.
The top three skills for a production engineer include java, continuous improvement and lean manufacturing. The most important skills for a chemical engineer are chemistry, technical support, and co-op.
| Production Engineer | Chemical Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $89,727 | $89,449 |
| Hourly rate | $43.14 | $43.00 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 14% |
| Number of jobs | 94,789 | 42,176 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 76% | Bachelor's Degree, 78% |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 4 | - |
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.
A chemical engineer provides support for chemical operations and testing new processes. The processes they successfully come up with are used to make different products from gas, oil, food, and drink. It is their job to assist in designing new chemical processes and make improvements. They implement fresh ideas to improve standard quality and efficiency. They must be good planners and schedulers of project activities to help chemical technicians to achieve their project objectives and provide technical support to maintain safe, stable, and reliable operations.
Production engineers and chemical engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Production Engineer | Chemical Engineer | |
| Average salary | $89,727 | $89,449 |
| Salary range | Between $64,000 And $125,000 | Between $67,000 And $119,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Sugar Land, TX |
| Highest paying state | California | Texas |
| Best paying company | Cheniere Energy | BP America Inc |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Energy |
There are a few differences between a production engineer and a chemical engineer in terms of educational background:
| Production Engineer | Chemical Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 76% | Bachelor's Degree, 78% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Chemical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Georgia Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between production engineers' and chemical engineers' demographics:
| Production Engineer | Chemical Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 86.7% Female, 13.3% | Male, 74.1% Female, 25.9% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 3.6% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.2% Asian, 21.3% White, 60.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 9% |