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The differences between sustaining engineers and design engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a sustaining engineer, becoming a design engineer takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a sustaining engineer has an average salary of $88,351, which is higher than the $77,134 average annual salary of a design engineer.
The top three skills for a sustaining engineer include troubleshoot, lean six sigma and lean manufacturing. The most important skills for a design engineer are C++, UL, and project management.
| Sustaining Engineer | Design Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $88,351 | $77,134 |
| Hourly rate | $42.48 | $37.08 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 57,402 | 138,173 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 6 |
A sustaining engineer is responsible for monitoring industrial operations, including the efficiency of processes and the performance of tools and equipment, ensuring high-quality deliverables for business objectives. Sustaining engineers evaluate the safety and security of the operations, strategizing techniques to manage potential hazards that may cause delays in the production. They also work with the management to identify opportunities to maximize productivity and maintain cost-reduction procedures, especially on materials and equipment. A sustaining engineer handles operational issues, as well as assessing incident reports for immediate resolution.
A design engineer is responsible for creating systems and applications based on their expertise. Design engineers work through client specifications based on business needs. A design engineer also provides recommendations on improving existing systems to boost its performance and increase efficiency. Design engineers must have an excellent command of computer systems, programming codes, and technical data to ensure the system's stability and high-quality processes. A design engineer should also have strong analytical and time-management skills to perform tasks and meet deadlines.
Sustaining engineers and design engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Sustaining Engineer | Design Engineer | |
| Average salary | $88,351 | $77,134 |
| Salary range | Between $68,000 And $114,000 | Between $57,000 And $102,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Technology |
There are a few differences between a sustaining engineer and a design engineer in terms of educational background:
| Sustaining Engineer | Design Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between sustaining engineers' and design engineers' demographics:
| Sustaining Engineer | Design Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 87.5% Female, 12.5% | Male, 88.9% Female, 11.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 15.1% White, 65.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 3.2% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 8.2% Asian, 16.8% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 5% |