Circuits engineer vs controls designer

The differences between circuits engineers and controls 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 circuits engineer and a controls designer. Additionally, a circuits engineer has an average salary of $92,489, which is higher than the $91,944 average annual salary of a controls designer.

The top three skills for a circuits engineer include PCB, circuit design and analog circuits. The most important skills for a controls designer are PLC, control panels, and IDS.

Circuits engineer vs controls designer overview

	Circuits Engineer	Controls Designer
Yearly salary	$92,489	$91,944
Hourly rate	$44.47	$44.20
Growth rate	3%	3%
Number of jobs	16,212	79,729
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 61%	Bachelor's Degree, 53%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	6	6

Circuits engineer vs controls designer salary

Circuits engineers and controls designers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Circuits Engineer	Controls Designer
Average salary	$92,489	$91,944
Salary range	Between $67,000 And $126,000	Between $69,000 And $121,000
Highest paying City	Berkeley, CA	San Jose, CA
Highest paying state	Washington	Rhode Island
Best paying company	Apple	Visteon
Best paying industry	Technology	Technology

Differences between circuits engineer and controls designer education

There are a few differences between a circuits engineer and a controls designer in terms of educational background:

	Circuits Engineer	Controls Designer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 61%	Bachelor's Degree, 53%
Most common major	Electrical Engineering	Electrical Engineering
Most common college	Stanford University	Carnegie Mellon University

Circuits engineer vs controls designer demographics

Here are the differences between circuits engineers' and controls designers' demographics:

	Circuits Engineer	Controls Designer
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 77.3% Female, 22.7%	Male, 86.5% Female, 13.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 4.8% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 11.1% Asian, 14.4% White, 64.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 4.8% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 11.0% Asian, 17.7% White, 61.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between circuits engineer and controls designer duties and responsibilities

Circuits engineer example responsibilities.

Apply technical knowledge in electromagnetic theory and microwave technology to plan and manage projects concern with ground-base radar systems.
Perform end-to-end circuit provisioning for networks from DS3 level to OC12, OC48, and OC192 circuits that cover nationwide.
Review customer requirements of SONET, Ethernet [] and DS3/DS1 to engineer the most efficient transport for their information.
Experience with assigning facilities in DACS, DSLAM, and MUX.
Design PCB artwork, deflection circuit, and power supply of monitors.
Review LEC and CLEC DLR s and pre-engineer DS-3 s or resolve slot discrepancies.

Controls designer example responsibilities.

Establish communication links and prepare machines for bench-testing to attain UL certification.
Engineer, draft, modify PLC programs and HMI programs, create schematics, test software with customer to their satisfaction.
Create the simulation with SolidWorks.
Create and deploy disk images for latest SolidWorks releases as needed.
Develop applications for HVAC, semiconductor, industrial coatings, medical, and renewable and sustainable industries.
Lead designer assign to smaller projects at various plants dealing with instrumentation, PLS and DCS upgrades / modifications.

Circuits engineer vs controls designer skills

Common circuits engineer skills

PCB, 25%
Circuit Design, 20%
Analog Circuits, 16%
RF, 8%
Mentor Graphics, 5%
CAD, 4%

Common controls designer skills

PLC, 12%
Control Panels, 6%
IDS, 6%
Auto CAD, 6%
I/O, 5%
UL, 4%