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The differences between sustaining engineers and senior process engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a sustaining engineer and a senior process engineer. Additionally, a senior process engineer has an average salary of $105,378, which is higher than the $88,351 average annual salary of a sustaining engineer.
The top three skills for a sustaining engineer include troubleshoot, lean six sigma and lean manufacturing. The most important skills for a senior process engineer are continuous improvement, project management, and data analysis.
| Sustaining Engineer | Senior Process Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $88,351 | $105,378 |
| Hourly rate | $42.48 | $50.66 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 57,402 | 56,510 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
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 Senior Process Engineer assesses a process efficiency, effectiveness, safety, and quality. They also conduct process improvement initiatives and custom product developments.
Sustaining engineers and senior process engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Sustaining Engineer | Senior Process Engineer | |
| Average salary | $88,351 | $105,378 |
| Salary range | Between $68,000 And $114,000 | Between $82,000 And $134,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Louisiana |
| Best paying company | Meta | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Energy |
There are a few differences between a sustaining engineer and a senior process engineer in terms of educational background:
| Sustaining Engineer | Senior Process Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Chemical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor |
Here are the differences between sustaining engineers' and senior process engineers' demographics:
| Sustaining Engineer | Senior Process Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 87.5% Female, 12.5% | Male, 85.1% Female, 14.9% |
| 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, 4.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 15.3% White, 66.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 4% |