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The differences between controls designers and designers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a controls designer, becoming a designer takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a controls designer has an average salary of $91,944, which is higher than the $66,347 average annual salary of a designer.
The top three skills for a controls designer include PLC, control panels and IDS. The most important skills for a designer are sketch, customer service, and graphic design.
| Controls Designer | Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $91,944 | $66,347 |
| Hourly rate | $44.20 | $31.90 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 79,729 | 52,433 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Average age | 45 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 12 |
Controls designers both design and draft systems of hydraulic, pneumatic, and electrical controls for equipment and machines. The designers make diagrams of the logic system for timing and sequence control. They illustrate and describe details for installation and maintenance, such as bearing lubrication and lubrication types. It is part of their job to review schematics with the representatives of customers to answer questions during robot system installation. Also, they may design energy conversion controls.
A designer is someone who creates a master plan of the look or workings of something before it will be made. It could be tangible or intangible objects, products, procedures, laws, events, games, graphics, services, and even experiences. Designers are creative thinkers with a great eye to configure the skeletal and structural properties of the targeted output. They work in several fields, such as fashion, architecture, web graphics, and user experience. In spite of the variety of professionals in the design industry, all of them are artistic, passionate, inspiring, and emotionally connected to their projects and brands.
Controls designers and designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Controls Designer | Designer | |
| Average salary | $91,944 | $66,347 |
| Salary range | Between $69,000 And $121,000 | Between $45,000 And $97,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Jose, CA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | Washington |
| Best paying company | Visteon | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a controls designer and a designer in terms of educational background:
| Controls Designer | Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | Carnegie Mellon University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between controls designers' and designers' demographics:
| Controls Designer | Designer | |
| Average age | 45 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 86.5% Female, 13.5% | Male, 56.9% Female, 43.1% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 10.4% White, 70.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 13% |