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The differences between student 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 student engineer and a product design engineer. Additionally, a product design engineer has an average salary of $94,827, which is higher than the $71,947 average annual salary of a student engineer.
The top three skills for a student engineer include GPA, C++ and CAD. The most important skills for a product design engineer are CAD, mechanical design, and GD.
| Student Engineer | Product Design Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $71,947 | $94,827 |
| Hourly rate | $34.59 | $45.59 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 98,036 | 170,485 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 78% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A student engineer is an individual who trains to become a full pledge professional engineer by gaining working experience in the field of engineering. By using their knowledge in the principles of science and mathematics, student engineers should help other professionals develop economical solutions and solve technical problems. They are required to engage themselves in the testing, production, or maintenance of newly developed products. Student engineers are also required to work closely with their senior managers or supervisors.
A Product Design Engineer designs new products that customers will want to purchase. They are responsible for designing, modeling, and testing prototypes for products.
Student engineers and product design engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Student Engineer | Product Design Engineer | |
| Average salary | $71,947 | $94,827 |
| Salary range | Between $54,000 And $95,000 | Between $69,000 And $129,000 |
| Highest paying City | Yakima, WA | San Mateo, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | JPMorgan Chase & Co. | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Transportation | Technology |
There are a few differences between a student engineer and a product design engineer in terms of educational background:
| Student Engineer | Product Design Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 78% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between student engineers' and product design engineers' demographics:
| Student Engineer | Product Design Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 78.8% Female, 21.2% | Male, 90.9% Female, 9.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.2% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 8.5% Asian, 15.9% White, 67.7% 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% |