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Circuit designer vs special project engineer

The differences between circuit designers and special project 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 special project engineer. Additionally, a circuit designer has an average salary of $105,618, which is higher than the $70,934 average annual salary of a special project engineer.

The top three skills for a circuit designer include cadence, analog and RF. The most important skills for a special project engineer are DOD, design changes, and engineering support.

Circuit designer vs special project engineer overview

Circuit DesignerSpecial Project Engineer
Yearly salary$105,618$70,934
Hourly rate$50.78$34.10
Growth rate3%2%
Number of jobs44,61190,999
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 63%Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Average age4541
Years of experience66

Circuit designer vs special project engineer salary

Circuit designers and special project engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Circuit DesignerSpecial Project Engineer
Average salary$105,618$70,934
Salary rangeBetween $79,000 And $139,000Between $52,000 And $95,000
Highest paying CityMountain View, CANewark, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaRhode Island
Best paying companyAppleApple
Best paying industryManufacturingHospitality

Differences between circuit designer and special project engineer education

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

Circuit DesignerSpecial Project Engineer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 63%Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Most common majorElectrical EngineeringBusiness
Most common collegeStanford UniversityStanford University

Circuit designer vs special project engineer demographics

Here are the differences between circuit designers' and special project engineers' demographics:

Circuit DesignerSpecial Project Engineer
Average age4541
Gender ratioMale, 66.9% Female, 33.1%Male, 65.9% Female, 34.1%
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, 3.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 10.3% White, 72.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage6%5%

Differences between circuit designer and special project 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

Special project engineer example responsibilities.

  • Manage a database for storage of CNC machining programs and engineering drawings.
  • Manage several industrial production building HVAC equipment replacement projects.
  • Develop software to automate generation of engineering drawings and BOM.
  • Manage custom product design & generate all require documentation for both customer and manufacturing groups using AutoCAD rel.
  • Implement cost reduction strategies through aggressive RFP and bidding processes while optimizing distribution processes and maintaining excellent customer service standards.
  • Perform basic setup of fanuc control CNC machines.
  • Show more

Circuit designer vs special project engineer skills

Common circuit designer skills
  • Cadence, 11%
  • Analog, 10%
  • RF, 7%
  • MATLAB, 7%
  • IP, 6%
  • CMOS, 5%
Common special project engineer skills
  • DOD, 10%
  • Design Changes, 10%
  • Engineering Support, 10%
  • R, 8%
  • Prototype, 7%
  • CAD, 6%

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