Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between test design engineers and 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 test design engineer and a design engineer. Additionally, a test design engineer has an average salary of $88,403, which is higher than the $77,134 average annual salary of a design engineer.
The top three skills for a test design engineer include test equipment, RF and python. The most important skills for a design engineer are C++, UL, and project management.
| Test Design Engineer | Design Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $88,403 | $77,134 |
| Hourly rate | $42.50 | $37.08 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 125,776 | 138,173 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 76% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A Test Design Engineer's job is to critically check all materials, processes, electrical, and mechanical systems to ensure that customers get high-quality products. As a Test Design Engineer, your job is to run tests to check the quality of products throughout the production cycle. This is done by checking the various components and features of these products to identify and fix technical issues easily. Your duties will also include checking the raw materials used for production, creating test environments and analyzing the results, and trying to ascertain the root cause of the malfunctions.
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.
Test design engineers and design engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Test Design Engineer | Design Engineer | |
| Average salary | $88,403 | $77,134 |
| Salary range | Between $67,000 And $115,000 | Between $57,000 And $102,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Apple | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Technology |
There are a few differences between a test design engineer and a design engineer in terms of educational background:
| Test Design Engineer | Design Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 76% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Michigan Technological University | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between test design engineers' and design engineers' demographics:
| Test Design Engineer | Design Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 87.2% Female, 12.8% | Male, 88.9% Female, 11.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 17.2% White, 67.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | 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 | 5% | 5% |