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The differences between senior production engineers and production managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a senior production engineer, becoming a production manager takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a senior production engineer has an average salary of $115,075, which is higher than the $78,064 average annual salary of a production manager.
The top three skills for a senior production engineer include continuous improvement, technical support and SR. The most important skills for a production manager are continuous improvement, customer service, and quality standards.
| Senior Production Engineer | Production Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $115,075 | $78,064 |
| Hourly rate | $55.32 | $37.53 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 94,542 | 95,561 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 78% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Average age | 42 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 2 |
A senior production engineer supervises and improves plant and factory production. They manage engineering teams, update the manager about various issues, create safety protocols, and draw up strategies to enhance profit and production efficiency. Besides overseeing the production processes and ensuring the engineering teams perform quality work, senior production engineers also work hand-in-hand with other engineers to draw up programs that enhance the required labor, costs, and production. Moreover, these professionals identify, document, and report unsafe practices.
Production managers work in show business, whether in film, television shows, or theatre productions. They oversee the whole production and ensure that all agreements are met. They manage finances and budget allocation. They oversee the design of costumes and sets. They also manage the timeline of filming and ensure that the production or filming will finish within the agreed timeline. Production managers also ensure that all stakeholders are satisfied. They build meaningful working relationships with everyone involved, from directors to actors to crew members. They try to mitigate any potential challenges in the production budget and schedule.
Senior production engineers and production managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Production Engineer | Production Manager | |
| Average salary | $115,075 | $78,064 |
| Salary range | Between $85,000 And $154,000 | Between $50,000 And $120,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Rhode Island |
| Best paying company | Ep Energy | Cheniere Energy |
| Best paying industry | Energy | Technology |
There are a few differences between a senior production engineer and a production manager in terms of educational background:
| Senior Production Engineer | Production Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 78% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Business |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between senior production engineers' and production managers' demographics:
| Senior Production Engineer | Production Manager | |
| Average age | 42 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 87.8% Female, 12.2% | Male, 76.6% Female, 23.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 14.9% White, 66.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 11.9% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 17.3% Asian, 5.1% White, 60.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 6% |