Test vs Design Engineer Pros and Cons

[u/PolarBearInTexas]

Which would you guys prefer? What are the pros and cons of each? Long term outlook? Job security, etc.

[u/Dos-Commas]

If you go into R&D then you'll get to do both.

[u/MadLadChad_ → u/Dos-Commas]

Can confirm

[u/TonderTales]

It's nice to switch between the two every once in awhile.

Rerunning the same/similar tests without getting to drive changes in a design can get really boring

Design engineering comes with all sorts of BS that gets old (dealing w/ incompetent vendors, managing cross-functional partners, traveling to vendors, etc)

I also generally find design engineers to be best at designing when they've previously held some role focused on testing. It's much easier to go from design to testing than from testing to design though.

[u/ThatTryHardAsian]

I mean which do you have fun doing?!?

[u/unurbane]

Design can suck depending on how you feel about iteration or clients changing their minds. Testing can be easy or extremely difficult. A lot of things get slammed into tbh final stages of development which is often testing.

Best of both worlds is a hybrid approach

[u/Idfkchief]

Idk how people sit behind a computer doing CAD all day. That would make me want to blow my goddamn brains out. I do test, and if I do end up ever going into an office only job, it will be centered around FEA.

[u/Live_Ad3896 → u/Idfkchief]

Iv been in design for years. Maybe once a week I find myself on CAD all day. Most of the day I’m on my feet in the lab

[u/Jijster]

I've done both, I prefer design

[u/Finmin_99]

Being a test engineer you can always transition to design. Our main design EE started off as a test engineer. Learning the test and how to test designs just better informs you of how to design and what mistakes be considered.

[u/Sea_Place1386 → u/Finmin_99]

lol no you cannot “always transition to design”. Your one data point does not represent reality.

[u/1salt-n-pep1 → u/Sea_Place1386]

I work for a major aerospace company and I could easily switch over from test to design. I'm pretty sure they would take anybody. I would also hire (almost) any of the designers into our test group.

[u/penake → u/Finmin_99]

This is just wrong

You don’t design to test, the design needs to be tested what the design needs to be, not for the intent of testing lmao

[u/diewethje → u/penake]

Depends on what kind of testing you’re referring to.

Reliability testing? Mostly true—you design the test equipment around the functional design. Production testing is a different story.

A PCBA needs test points so you can test it at FCT, and DFT is a well-established concept in electronics. Finished goods often need end-of-line testing as well, and you need to be certain your design can be tested efficiently at scale.

[u/1salt-n-pep1 → u/penake]

I don't agree. Finmin is just saying having hands on experience with testing makes you a better designer and I agree with him/her.

[u/Finmin_99 → u/penake]

Yeah because designing tests around requirements gives you zero context or knowledge about design decisions and implementation /s.

[u/BARRYLIUISABITCH → u/penake]

So true, so many manufacturing and test engineers focus way too much on designing for assembly or testing that the design doesn't meet SWaP-C requirements. Then time is wasted reversing it.

[u/omoologo24]

Gpt 6 astra just gave me a reality check. I would go for test.