Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between distribution engineers and system design engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a distribution engineer and a system design engineer. Additionally, a system design engineer has an average salary of $107,704, which is higher than the $77,713 average annual salary of a distribution engineer.
The top three skills for a distribution engineer include aided design, GIS and CAD. The most important skills for a system design engineer are system design, architecture, and MATLAB.
| Distribution Engineer | System Design Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $77,713 | $107,704 |
| Hourly rate | $37.36 | $51.78 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 56,779 | 113,582 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
The duties of a distribution engineer depend on one's line of work or industry of employment. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around installing and repairing power distribution systems, understanding blueprints, devising strategies to optimize performances, coordinating with different engineers and technicians, and developing new power systems. They must also perform regular maintenance checks to ensure the efficiency and quality of distribution systems. Furthermore, as an engineer, it is essential to implement the company's policies and regulations to maintain a safe and productive work environment for everyone.
A system design engineer is an individual who participates in system design engineering and resolves manufacturing and service problems. System design engineers are required to collaborate with the system design team to research emerging technologies and develop new capabilities. They create design layouts by utilizing the use of CAD software such as AutoCad as well as supervise a group of CAD technicians. System design engineers must also provide customer service in the field and deliver individualized problem solving and system design support
Distribution engineers and system design engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Distribution Engineer | System Design Engineer | |
| Average salary | $77,713 | $107,704 |
| Salary range | Between $46,000 And $129,000 | Between $77,000 And $149,000 |
| Highest paying City | Los Angeles, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Apple | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Energy | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a distribution engineer and a system design engineer in terms of educational background:
| Distribution Engineer | System Design Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between distribution engineers' and system design engineers' demographics:
| Distribution Engineer | System Design Engineer | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 88.2% Female, 11.8% | Male, 91.2% Female, 8.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.9% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 11.6% Asian, 14.3% White, 64.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 4.9% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 11.4% Asian, 15.4% White, 63.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |