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Electrical test engineer vs senior electrical designer

The differences between electrical test engineers and senior electrical designers 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 test engineer and a senior electrical designer. Additionally, a senior electrical designer has an average salary of $87,859, which is higher than the $74,723 average annual salary of an electrical test engineer.

The top three skills for an electrical test engineer include data analysis, labview and C++. The most important skills for a senior electrical designer are electrical design, revit, and electrical equipment.

Electrical test engineer vs senior electrical designer overview

Electrical Test EngineerSenior Electrical Designer
Yearly salary$74,723$87,859
Hourly rate$35.92$42.24
Growth rate3%3%
Number of jobs69,79378,838
Job satisfaction4-
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 72%Associate Degree, 50%
Average age4545
Years of experience22

What does an electrical test engineer do?

An electrical test engineer specializes in developing test structures to ensure the quality and efficiency of electrical systems and equipment. Among their responsibilities include understanding and identifying the needs of electrical projects, troubleshooting errors, gathering and analyzing materials to find defects and inconsistencies, conducting tests and examinations, and analyzing test results. Moreover, an electrical test engineer must also study and identify the root of problems, recommending and implementing solutions while adhering to the company's policies and regulations.

What does a senior electrical designer do?

A Senior Electrical Designer is in charge of creating electrical schematics, layouts, and other grid plans for their organization, as well as providing the best solution for improvements. They supervise the material, construction, labor costs, and project timescales.

Electrical test engineer vs senior electrical designer salary

Electrical test engineers and senior electrical designers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Electrical Test EngineerSenior Electrical Designer
Average salary$74,723$87,859
Salary rangeBetween $56,000 And $98,000Between $66,000 And $116,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CACeres, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaAlaska
Best paying companyMetaLam Research
Best paying industryAutomotiveManufacturing

Differences between electrical test engineer and senior electrical designer education

There are a few differences between an electrical test engineer and a senior electrical designer in terms of educational background:

Electrical Test EngineerSenior Electrical Designer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 72%Associate Degree, 50%
Most common majorElectrical EngineeringElectrical Engineering
Most common collegeMichigan Technological UniversityMichigan Technological University

Electrical test engineer vs senior electrical designer demographics

Here are the differences between electrical test engineers' and senior electrical designers' demographics:

Electrical Test EngineerSenior Electrical Designer
Average age4545
Gender ratioMale, 91.4% Female, 8.6%Male, 89.2% Female, 10.8%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 4.8% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 11.1% Asian, 14.5% White, 64.8% 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, 64.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage6%6%

Differences between electrical test engineer and senior electrical designer duties and responsibilities

Electrical test engineer example responsibilities.

  • Manage drafting and software group, write equipment specifications, BOMS, test, and installation procedures.
  • Coordinate with senior electrical engineers and achieve hands-on experience on coal fire plant power generation and power transformers, circuit breakers.
  • Work with management in obtaining UL approval.
  • Used MATLAB to analyze data for clients.
  • Perform the burn-in test battery on all displays.
  • Modele PZT ceramic and piezo film parameters using MATLAB.
  • Show more

Senior electrical designer example responsibilities.

  • Lead all phases of facility HAZWOPER projects including environmental HVAC upgrades and environmental remediation initiatives.
  • Design control systems according to NFPA 79 and IEC 204 electrical standards.
  • Coordinate safety training and ensure OSHA compliance through training and site review.
  • Design include various NFPA requirements (including fire pumps).
  • Document existing control panels, HMI, and PLC s, to move or duplicate for the new operators control building.
  • Red-Line several large instrument/Electrical packages for as-built.
  • Show more

Electrical test engineer vs senior electrical designer skills

Common electrical test engineer skills
  • Data Analysis, 7%
  • LabVIEW, 7%
  • C++, 6%
  • Data Acquisition, 6%
  • Test Procedures, 5%
  • Test Results, 4%
Common senior electrical designer skills
  • Electrical Design, 9%
  • Revit, 6%
  • Electrical Equipment, 5%
  • Electrical Systems, 5%
  • Autocad Electrical, 5%
  • NEC, 4%

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