Post job

Circuit designer vs radio frequency engineer

The differences between circuit designers and radio frequency 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 circuit designer and a radio frequency engineer. Additionally, a circuit designer has an average salary of $105,618, which is higher than the $88,301 average annual salary of a radio frequency engineer.

The top three skills for a circuit designer include cadence, analog and RF. The most important skills for a radio frequency engineer are test equipment, antenna, and system performance.

Circuit designer vs radio frequency engineer overview

Circuit DesignerRadio Frequency Engineer
Yearly salary$105,618$88,301
Hourly rate$50.78$42.45
Growth rate3%3%
Number of jobs44,61135,158
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 63%Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Average age4545
Years of experience66

Circuit designer vs radio frequency engineer salary

Circuit designers and radio frequency engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Circuit DesignerRadio Frequency Engineer
Average salary$105,618$88,301
Salary rangeBetween $79,000 And $139,000Between $67,000 And $115,000
Highest paying CityMountain View, CACupertino, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaCalifornia
Best paying companyAppleMeta
Best paying industryManufacturingTechnology

Differences between circuit designer and radio frequency engineer education

There are a few differences between a circuit designer and a radio frequency engineer in terms of educational background:

Circuit DesignerRadio Frequency Engineer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 63%Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Most common majorElectrical EngineeringElectrical Engineering
Most common collegeStanford UniversityNortheastern University

Circuit designer vs radio frequency engineer demographics

Here are the differences between circuit designers' and radio frequency engineers' demographics:

Circuit DesignerRadio Frequency Engineer
Average age4545
Gender ratioMale, 66.9% Female, 33.1%Male, 91.1% Female, 8.9%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 4.9% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 11.4% Asian, 16.6% White, 62.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%Black or African American, 4.6% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 10.3% Asian, 20.7% White, 59.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage6%6%

Differences between circuit designer and radio frequency engineer duties and responsibilities

Circuit designer example responsibilities.

  • Manage and assign company facilities and assets through the use of: circuit reports, manual logs and PC generate reports.
  • Configure, document, and support routers, switches, and VPN.
  • Used handheld computers and pressure gauges.
  • Test and measurement of various RF circuits.
  • Develop schematic & PCB footprints for component library.
  • Transition to in-circuit testing of complete circuit boards.
  • Show more

Radio frequency engineer example responsibilities.

  • Manage joint projects together with Samsung, Motorola, etc.
  • Lead the development of the security layer of Wi-Fi on Sandbridge's proprietary platform.
  • Assist with live broadcasts, update the community calendar, manage WCJW Facebook page.
  • Process improvement efforts and/or other opportunities to automate these processes with computer applications with C++ and/or Java where applicable.
  • Measure stationary test for DL and UL throughput using iPerf.
  • Advance WLAN troubleshooting on WLAN infrastructures, as well as surveying using AirMagnet.
  • Show more

Circuit designer vs radio frequency engineer skills

Common circuit designer skills
  • Cadence, 11%
  • Analog, 10%
  • RF, 7%
  • MATLAB, 7%
  • IP, 6%
  • CMOS, 5%
Common radio frequency engineer skills
  • Test Equipment, 9%
  • Antenna, 7%
  • System Performance, 4%
  • System Design, 4%
  • Troubleshoot, 4%
  • Macro, 3%

Browse architecture and engineering jobs