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The differences between technical design engineers and system design engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a technical design engineer, becoming a system design engineer takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a system design engineer has an average salary of $107,704, which is higher than the $75,599 average annual salary of a technical design engineer.
The top three skills for a technical design engineer include design drawings, windows and infrastructure. The most important skills for a system design engineer are system design, architecture, and MATLAB.
| Technical Design Engineer | System Design Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $75,599 | $107,704 |
| Hourly rate | $36.35 | $51.78 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 173,548 | 113,582 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 48% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Average age | 41 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 2 |
A technical design engineer specializes in designing a company's products and systems, ensuring quality and efficiency. Among their responsibilities include performing extensive research and analysis, understanding and identifying the needs of every project, developing prototypes and test structures, and coordinating with experts. There are also instances when they must conduct maintenance checks on current systems, executing repairs when necessary. Furthermore, as a technical design engineer, it is essential to maintain an active communication line with staff, coordinating them while enforcing the company's policies and regulations.
A system design engineer is an individual who participates in system design engineering and resolves manufacturing and service problems. System design engineers are required to collaborate with the system design team to research emerging technologies and develop new capabilities. They create design layouts by utilizing the use of CAD software such as AutoCad as well as supervise a group of CAD technicians. System design engineers must also provide customer service in the field and deliver individualized problem solving and system design support
Technical design engineers and system design engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Technical Design Engineer | System Design Engineer | |
| Average salary | $75,599 | $107,704 |
| Salary range | Between $49,000 And $116,000 | Between $77,000 And $149,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Western Digital | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a technical design engineer and a system design engineer in terms of educational background:
| Technical Design Engineer | System Design Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 48% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Most common major | Drafting And Design | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Carnegie Mellon University | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between technical design engineers' and system design engineers' demographics:
| Technical Design Engineer | System Design Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 83.7% Female, 16.3% | Male, 91.2% Female, 8.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.3% Asian, 10.3% White, 72.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 4.9% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 11.4% Asian, 15.4% White, 63.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 6% |