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Senior piping designer vs mechanical design engineer

The differences between senior piping designers and mechanical 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 senior piping designer and a mechanical design engineer. Additionally, a senior piping designer has an average salary of $130,020, which is higher than the $75,821 average annual salary of a mechanical design engineer.

The top three skills for a senior piping designer include autocad, equipment layout and refinery. The most important skills for a mechanical design engineer are CAD, mechanical design, and GD.

Senior piping designer vs mechanical design engineer overview

Senior Piping DesignerMechanical Design Engineer
Yearly salary$130,020$75,821
Hourly rate$62.51$36.45
Growth rate2%2%
Number of jobs65,865120,258
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 56%Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Average age4141
Years of experience66

What does a senior piping designer do?

A Senior Piping Designer is responsible for the scoping and technical execution of the piping design. They manage and supervise all aspects and details of the piping design.

What does a mechanical design engineer do?

A mechanical design engineer specializes in designing various mechanical devices that will be vital in developing machinery or large structures. One of their primary responsibilities revolves around conducting thorough research and analysis, establishing layouts and prototypes, producing progress reports, and working alongside fellow engineers and skilled professionals. Typically assigned in an office setting, a mechanical design engineer must visit construction sites or factories to test and observe equipment qualities. Furthermore, during production, there are instances when a mechanical engineer must coordinate with suppliers, contractors, and clients.

Senior piping designer vs mechanical design engineer salary

Senior piping designers and mechanical design engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Senior Piping DesignerMechanical Design Engineer
Average salary$130,020$75,821
Salary rangeBetween $94,000 And $179,000Between $59,000 And $96,000
Highest paying CityBellevue, WASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateWashingtonCalifornia
Best paying companyAmec Foster WheelerMeta
Best paying industryEnergyAutomotive

Differences between senior piping designer and mechanical design engineer education

There are a few differences between a senior piping designer and a mechanical design engineer in terms of educational background:

Senior Piping DesignerMechanical Design Engineer
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 56%Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Most common majorDrafting And DesignMechanical Engineering
Most common collegeMichigan Technological UniversityMichigan Technological University

Senior piping designer vs mechanical design engineer demographics

Here are the differences between senior piping designers' and mechanical design engineers' demographics:

Senior Piping DesignerMechanical Design Engineer
Average age4141
Gender ratioMale, 93.8% Female, 6.2%Male, 91.9% Female, 8.1%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.2% Asian, 10.4% White, 72.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%Black or African American, 3.2% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 8.2% Asian, 16.4% White, 67.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage5%5%

Differences between senior piping designer and mechanical design engineer duties and responsibilities

Senior piping designer example responsibilities.

  • Work with JPL / NASA packaging and fabrication engineering leads (on-site).
  • Perform field surveys, prepare piping plans & sections, fabrication and construction ISO's and BOM's.
  • Fabricate steel platforms, column, ladders and stairs associate with containment tanks, pipe racks and pumps.
  • Animate NAVISWORKS models to help clarify maintenance clearances.
  • Train and provide support to new designers in PDMS.
  • Convert 3D model to a NAVISWORKS model for client model review.
  • Show more

Mechanical design engineer example responsibilities.

  • Manage installation and troubleshooting documents for ultra precision CNC grinding machines.
  • Manage the successful release to manufacturing of several generations of Ethernet switches.
  • Engineer, manage and implement configuration and installation of complex Ethernet network backbones.
  • Manage automation projects including purchasing, scheduling fabrication and assembly, debugging, and delivery to customer.
  • Provide mechanical design and sustaining engineering expertise to troubleshoot manufacturing defect trends and achieve a more robust and producible product.
  • Supervise product development in coherence with UL standards and manufacturers.
  • Show more

Senior piping designer vs mechanical design engineer skills

Common senior piping designer skills
  • Autocad, 18%
  • Equipment Layout, 12%
  • Refinery, 6%
  • Navisworks, 5%
  • ISO, 5%
  • CADWorx, 5%
Common mechanical design engineer skills
  • CAD, 14%
  • Mechanical Design, 12%
  • GD, 5%
  • Creo, 5%
  • FEA, 4%
  • UL, 3%

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