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The differences between electrical & instrumentation designers and instrumentation & control engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an electrical & instrumentation designer and an instrumentation & control engineer. Additionally, an instrumentation & control engineer has an average salary of $92,464, which is higher than the $81,188 average annual salary of an electrical & instrumentation designer.
The top three skills for an electrical & instrumentation designer include PLC, instrumentation design and control systems. The most important skills for an instrumentation & control engineer are PLC, HMI, and SCADA.
| Electrical & Instrumentation Designer | Instrumentation & Control Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $81,188 | $92,464 |
| Hourly rate | $39.03 | $44.45 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 81,243 | 51,065 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 78% |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
An electrical instrumentation designer's main job is to design instruments that can be used in various areas such as laboratories, power plants, or research institutes. They work together with a team or individually to design instruments, create a prototype, and test its functions. They can even install these instruments in different establishments and locations. They are tasked with repair and training engineers. At other times, they are assigned to record expenses and other documentation.
An instrumentation and control engineer is responsible for installing and designing technical components for engineering systems that would support production and manufacturing processes. Instrumentation and control engineers inspect control systems, modify features and infrastructure, configure controllers, and run multiple quality checks to ensure stability and optimal performance. They must have excellent communication and technical skills, especially in developing system codes and analyzing programming languages to serve control functions and development. An instrumentation and control engineer also resolves system issues and write resolution reports for reference.
Electrical & instrumentation designers and instrumentation & control engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Electrical & Instrumentation Designer | Instrumentation & Control Engineer | |
| Average salary | $81,188 | $92,464 |
| Salary range | Between $60,000 And $109,000 | Between $70,000 And $121,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | - | Washington |
| Best paying company | - | Marathon Petroleum |
| Best paying industry | - | Energy |
There are a few differences between an electrical & instrumentation designer and an instrumentation & control engineer in terms of educational background:
| Electrical & Instrumentation Designer | Instrumentation & Control Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 78% |
| Most common major | Drafting And Design | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Michigan Technological University | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between electrical & instrumentation designers' and instrumentation & control engineers' demographics:
| Electrical & Instrumentation Designer | Instrumentation & Control Engineer | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 85.2% Female, 14.8% | Male, 90.2% Female, 9.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.9% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 11.5% Asian, 14.3% White, 64.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 4.8% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 11.0% Asian, 14.5% White, 64.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |