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Project and design lead vs project designer

The differences between project and design leads and project designers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a project and design lead, becoming a project designer takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a project and design lead has an average salary of $89,305, which is higher than the $64,943 average annual salary of a project designer.

The top three skills for a project and design lead include CAD, construction drawings and solidworks. The most important skills for a project designer are revit, sketch, and design concepts.

Project and design lead vs project designer overview

Project And Design LeadProject Designer
Yearly salary$89,305$64,943
Hourly rate$42.94$31.22
Growth rate2%1%
Number of jobs55,08660,364
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 71%Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Average age4142
Years of experience64

Project and design lead vs project designer salary

Project and design leads and project designers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Project And Design LeadProject Designer
Average salary$89,305$64,943
Salary rangeBetween $67,000 And $118,000Between $47,000 And $89,000
Highest paying CityRedwood City, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaNew Mexico
Best paying companyEli Lilly and CompanyApple
Best paying industryFinanceManufacturing

Differences between project and design lead and project designer education

There are a few differences between a project and design lead and a project designer in terms of educational background:

Project And Design LeadProject Designer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 71%Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Most common majorMechanical EngineeringArchitecture
Most common collegeMichigan Technological UniversityCornell University

Project and design lead vs project designer demographics

Here are the differences between project and design leads' and project designers' demographics:

Project And Design LeadProject Designer
Average age4142
Gender ratioMale, 77.1% Female, 22.9%Male, 66.5% Female, 33.5%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 3.3% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 15.9% White, 67.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%Black or African American, 1.5% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 7.6% Asian, 4.6% White, 82.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage5%23%

Differences between project and design lead and project designer duties and responsibilities

Project and design lead example responsibilities.

  • Deliver high-level n-tier architecture design, managing project expectations and timetables throughout all phases of development process.
  • Identify key areas for FPGA design improvement while isolating testing gaps in VHDL.
  • Request enhancements to the PLM product.
  • Work with composite materials, molds and SolidWorks.
  • Work with a 3rd party to utilize Solidworks EPDM software.
  • Develop requirements for customization of PLM product to suit Chrysler business processes.
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Project designer example responsibilities.

  • Lead efforts to redesign and convert existing self-pace and instructor-le course materials into eLearning and web-base formats.
  • Provide 2D AutoCAD and 3D Sketchup drawings for client presentations.
  • Implement AIA layering standards and create file management standards for the office.
  • Calculate size of ductwork, hydronic piping, plumbing, and gas piping.
  • Time management, procedure, and field sketch expertise, must be absolute, and perfect.
  • Prepare and deliver construction documents using Revit and AutoCAD for each project on time and within budget.
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Project and design lead vs project designer skills

Common project and design lead skills
  • CAD, 12%
  • Construction Drawings, 8%
  • Solidworks, 6%
  • Design Concepts, 5%
  • R, 5%
  • QA, 5%
Common project designer skills
  • Revit, 17%
  • Sketch, 8%
  • Design Concepts, 5%
  • Auto CAD, 5%
  • SketchUp, 5%
  • Design Development, 4%

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