Test engine mechanic vs senior mechanical designer

The differences between test engine mechanics and senior mechanical designers 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 engine mechanic and a senior mechanical designer. Additionally, a senior mechanical designer has an average salary of $103,765, which is higher than the $78,505 average annual salary of a test engine mechanic.

The top three skills for a test engine mechanic include data acquisition, CAD and data analysis. The most important skills for a senior mechanical designer are CAD, mechanical design, and GD.

Test engine mechanic vs senior mechanical designer overview

	Test Engine Mechanic	Senior Mechanical Designer
Yearly salary	$78,505	$103,765
Hourly rate	$37.74	$49.89
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	86,709	71,958
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 82%	Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Average age	41	41
Years of experience	6	6

What does a test engine mechanic do?

The work of a Test Engine Mechanic involves testing the engine of vehicles. This means constantly lubricating necessary parts of the engine and replacing the spark plugs, for starters. You will also have to test and inspect the engine for any part that's malfunctioning. In cases where a replacement is required, your job is to source components that fit the specifications. Furthermore, you will need to reassemble and reinstall all components of the engines immediately after repairs. To wrap it up, you would also have to keep a record of every inspection, test results, and work done.

What does a senior mechanical designer do?

A Senior Mechanical Designer is responsible for creating effective mechanical designs for their company and developing mechanical concepts in accordance with project requirements. They assist the engineering manager in coaching other mechanical engineers to develop design skills.

Test engine mechanic vs senior mechanical designer salary

Test engine mechanics and senior mechanical designers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Test Engine Mechanic	Senior Mechanical Designer
Average salary	$78,505	$103,765
Salary range	Between $58,000 And $105,000	Between $81,000 And $131,000
Highest paying City	Foster City, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	California
Best paying company	Apple	Google
Best paying industry	Retail	Automotive

Differences between test engine mechanic and senior mechanical designer education

There are a few differences between a test engine mechanic and a senior mechanical designer in terms of educational background:

	Test Engine Mechanic	Senior Mechanical Designer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 82%	Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Most common major	Mechanical Engineering	Mechanical Engineering
Most common college	Michigan Technological University	Carnegie Mellon University

Test engine mechanic vs senior mechanical designer demographics

Here are the differences between test engine mechanics' and senior mechanical designers' demographics:

	Test Engine Mechanic	Senior Mechanical Designer
Average age	41	41
Gender ratio	Male, 91.2% Female, 8.8%	Male, 94.1% Female, 5.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.1% Asian, 11.7% White, 71.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%	Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.3% Asian, 11.4% White, 71.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between test engine mechanic and senior mechanical designer duties and responsibilities

Test engine mechanic example responsibilities.

Programme and used LabVIEW to automate testing and perform data recording.
Stream-Line company design and prototyping activities and manage transitions between internal and subcontract manufacturing with clear, reference, design filing.
Evaluate the performance of the systems in the production environment then troubleshoot and correct any issues that are discover.
Develop a maintenance tool in Java that creates a report of outdate software on systems throughout the production environment.
Install instrumentation to gather data including: thermocouples, accelerometers, and pressure transducers.
Assist users in testing by working with Unix base environment.

Senior mechanical designer example responsibilities.

Lead FPGA development of key digital communication component used in successful demonstration of spacecraft radio link.
Create and modify very large assemblies in Creo which are used to create drawings for top level spacecraft assemblies.
Generate fabrication and assembly drawings for fabrication of commercial/Industrial water heaters and boilers base on ISO 9000 and AWA standards.
Perform complex interference fit checks, motion studies, and tolerance stack-up analysis on large assemblies using Pro/E - Creo software.
Verify all design factors including performance, tolerances, fitting, materials, surface finish and BOM for components and systems.
Improve dynamic response of microscope using ANSYS vibration simulation.

Test engine mechanic vs senior mechanical designer skills

Common test engine mechanic skills

Data Acquisition, 11%
CAD, 8%
Data Analysis, 8%
Test Results, 7%
Test Procedures, 7%
LabVIEW, 6%

Common senior mechanical designer skills

CAD, 12%
Mechanical Design, 11%
GD, 5%
Creo, 5%
Autocad, 4%
FEA, 4%

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Test Engine Mechanic vs Senior Mechanical Designer

Updated January 8, 2025

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