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Engineering trainee vs electronics engineer

The differences between engineering trainees and electronics engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both an engineering trainee and an electronics engineer. Additionally, an electronics engineer has an average salary of $93,985, which is higher than the $60,235 average annual salary of an engineering trainee.

The top three skills for an engineering trainee include fire protection, technical support and R. The most important skills for an electronics engineer are analog, RF, and power electronics.

Engineering trainee vs electronics engineer overview

Engineering TraineeElectronics Engineer
Yearly salary$60,235$93,985
Hourly rate$28.96$45.19
Growth rate3%3%
Number of jobs79,96683,870
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 73%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age4545
Years of experience66

What does an engineering trainee do?

An engineering trainee is responsible for shadowing engineers in their duties and performing administrative tasks as needed. Engineering trainees assist the engineers in inspecting construction sites and conducting field research. They also identify cost-efficient materials and resources that meet quality standards and client specifications. An engineering trainee must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in writing reports, attending meetings, and ensuring that all reports are submitted for management's reviews, such as contracts from suppliers and vendors.

What does an electronics engineer do?

An electronics engineer specializes in designing and developing electronic components and systems, ensuring efficiency in all aspects. They are primarily responsible for conducting tests and maintenance for systems, identifying any faults or inconsistencies, and performing corrective measures right away. Moreover, an electronics engineer must coordinate with clients to consult them on their needs and meet with other skilled engineers to ensure optimal quality of equipment. An electronics engineer may also perform administrative tasks, mainly to produce progress reports and presentations, manage schedules, and craft instructional written materials for all electronic systems.

Engineering trainee vs electronics engineer salary

Engineering trainees and electronics engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Engineering TraineeElectronics Engineer
Average salary$60,235$93,985
Salary rangeBetween $43,000 And $82,000Between $68,000 And $129,000
Highest paying CityLivingston, NJBerkeley, CA
Highest paying stateNew JerseyRhode Island
Best paying companyCrown HoldingsMeta
Best paying industryEnergyTechnology

Differences between engineering trainee and electronics engineer education

There are a few differences between an engineering trainee and an electronics engineer in terms of educational background:

Engineering TraineeElectronics Engineer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 73%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common majorMechanical EngineeringElectrical Engineering
Most common collegeMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyNortheastern University

Engineering trainee vs electronics engineer demographics

Here are the differences between engineering trainees' and electronics engineers' demographics:

Engineering TraineeElectronics Engineer
Average age4545
Gender ratioMale, 80.0% Female, 20.0%Male, 91.2% Female, 8.8%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 4.1% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.0% Asian, 25.1% White, 57.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%Black or African American, 4.9% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 11.4% Asian, 15.8% White, 63.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage6%6%

Differences between engineering trainee and electronics engineer duties and responsibilities

Engineering trainee example responsibilities.

  • Demonstrate professionalism and the ability to manage projects independently, performing facility layouts within AutoCAD to forecast customer costs.
  • Maintain the documentation to the projects as per ISO standards.
  • Generate PLC inputs and outputs lists as per client process statement.
  • Develop control logic, AutoCAD drawings, PLC programming and HMI screens.
  • Test polymer and metals parts used in the automobiles to ensure compliance with ISO standards.
  • Conduct cost estimates for mechanical and plumbing work using standard estimating manuals.
  • Show more

Electronics engineer example responsibilities.

  • Lead manufacturing testing effort for VT-1 missile program.
  • Manage technicians throughout design, development, construction, testing, ISO quality assurance, and field/flight/wind tunnel test support phases.
  • Design automated lab system for troubleshooting HVAC PC boards in AMTRAK trains, to achieve shorter fault diagnostics time lab repairs.
  • Manage technicians during prototyping stage.
  • Coordinate with senior electrical engineers and achieve hands-on experience on coal fire plant power generation and power transformers, circuit breakers.
  • Interface with firmware team to define and develop custom FPGA RTL.
  • Show more

Engineering trainee vs electronics engineer skills

Common engineering trainee skills
  • Fire Protection, 12%
  • Technical Support, 8%
  • R, 6%
  • Boilers, 5%
  • Geotechnical, 5%
  • Python, 5%
Common electronics engineer skills
  • Analog, 6%
  • RF, 6%
  • Power Electronics, 6%
  • DOD, 4%
  • Test Equipment, 4%
  • PCB, 4%

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