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The differences between research engineers and product design engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a research engineer and a product design engineer. Additionally, a research engineer has an average salary of $96,945, which is higher than the $94,827 average annual salary of a product design engineer.
The top three skills for a research engineer include python, java and software development. The most important skills for a product design engineer are CAD, mechanical design, and GD.
| Research Engineer | Product Design Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $96,945 | $94,827 |
| Hourly rate | $46.61 | $45.59 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 136,763 | 170,485 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
Research Engineers are responsible for a wide range of duties, including researching and developing new technologies and prototypes, and finding solutions to improve techniques, procedures, and technologies.
A Product Design Engineer designs new products that customers will want to purchase. They are responsible for designing, modeling, and testing prototypes for products.
Research engineers and product design engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Research Engineer | Product Design Engineer | |
| Average salary | $96,945 | $94,827 |
| Salary range | Between $67,000 And $138,000 | Between $69,000 And $129,000 |
| Highest paying City | Menlo Park, CA | San Mateo, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | The Citadel | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Start-up | Technology |
There are a few differences between a research engineer and a product design engineer in terms of educational background:
| Research Engineer | Product Design Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Georgia Institute of Technology | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between research engineers' and product design engineers' demographics:
| Research Engineer | Product Design Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 81.7% Female, 18.3% | Male, 90.9% Female, 9.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 16.9% White, 67.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 3.2% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 8.2% Asian, 16.2% White, 67.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |