Post job

Associate electrical engineer vs senior electrical designer

The differences between associate electrical engineers and senior electrical designers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an associate electrical engineer and a senior electrical designer. Additionally, a senior electrical designer has an average salary of $87,859, which is higher than the $71,773 average annual salary of an associate electrical engineer.

The top three skills for an associate electrical engineer include electrical components, electrical equipment and RF. The most important skills for a senior electrical designer are electrical design, revit, and electrical equipment.

Associate electrical engineer vs senior electrical designer overview

Associate Electrical EngineerSenior Electrical Designer
Yearly salary$71,773$87,859
Hourly rate$34.51$42.24
Growth rate3%3%
Number of jobs31,70778,838
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 51%Associate Degree, 50%
Average age4545
Years of experience22

What does an associate electrical engineer do?

An associate electrical engineer is responsible for organizing and developing electrical systems, improving existing components, and designing infrastructure under the guidance of the senior electrical engineer. Associate electrical engineers identify cost-reduction materials and analyze current electrical industry trends to determine efficient products and equipment that support public demands and industrial use. They collaborate testing methods with the engineering team, suggest project improvement techniques, and perform quality assurance procedures to stabilize the electrical system's optimal performance.

What does a senior electrical designer do?

A Senior Electrical Designer is in charge of creating electrical schematics, layouts, and other grid plans for their organization, as well as providing the best solution for improvements. They supervise the material, construction, labor costs, and project timescales.

Associate electrical engineer vs senior electrical designer salary

Associate electrical engineers and senior electrical designers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Associate Electrical EngineerSenior Electrical Designer
Average salary$71,773$87,859
Salary rangeBetween $51,000 And $100,000Between $66,000 And $116,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CACeres, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaAlaska
Best paying companyMcKinsey & Company IncLam Research
Best paying industryHospitalityManufacturing

Differences between associate electrical engineer and senior electrical designer education

There are a few differences between an associate electrical engineer and a senior electrical designer in terms of educational background:

Associate Electrical EngineerSenior Electrical Designer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 51%Associate Degree, 50%
Most common majorElectrical EngineeringElectrical Engineering
Most common collegeMichigan Technological UniversityMichigan Technological University

Associate electrical engineer vs senior electrical designer demographics

Here are the differences between associate electrical engineers' and senior electrical designers' demographics:

Associate Electrical EngineerSenior Electrical Designer
Average age4545
Gender ratioMale, 86.6% Female, 13.4%Male, 89.2% Female, 10.8%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 4.8% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 11.0% Asian, 14.5% White, 64.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%Black or African American, 4.8% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 11.0% Asian, 14.5% White, 64.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage6%6%

Differences between associate electrical engineer and senior electrical designer duties and responsibilities

Associate electrical engineer example responsibilities.

  • Assist engineers with designing and coding test fixtures using LabVIEW to automate production testing.
  • Perform experiments on RF components during development process and achieve a robust design.
  • Coordinate with senior electrical engineers and achieve hands-on experience on coal fire plant power generation and power transformers, circuit breakers.
  • Participate in the conversion of Magtek FPGA card reader microcontroller into an ASIC.
  • Upgrade, rework and troubleshoot to the component level of digital and analog circuits.
  • Design power supply, PCB layout and mechanical housing for testing tool and interface boards.
  • Show more

Senior electrical designer example responsibilities.

  • Lead all phases of facility HAZWOPER projects including environmental HVAC upgrades and environmental remediation initiatives.
  • Design control systems according to NFPA 79 and IEC 204 electrical standards.
  • Coordinate safety training and ensure OSHA compliance through training and site review.
  • Design include various NFPA requirements (including fire pumps).
  • Document existing control panels, HMI, and PLC s, to move or duplicate for the new operators control building.
  • Red-Line several large instrument/Electrical packages for as-built.
  • Show more

Associate electrical engineer vs senior electrical designer skills

Common associate electrical engineer skills
  • Electrical Components, 7%
  • Electrical Equipment, 6%
  • RF, 6%
  • CAD, 5%
  • Autocad, 4%
  • C++, 4%
Common senior electrical designer skills
  • Electrical Design, 9%
  • Revit, 6%
  • Electrical Equipment, 5%
  • Electrical Systems, 5%
  • Autocad Electrical, 5%
  • NEC, 4%

Browse architecture and engineering jobs