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The differences between field electrical engineers 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 a field electrical engineer and an instrumentation & control engineer. Additionally, an instrumentation & control engineer has an average salary of $92,464, which is higher than the $86,347 average annual salary of a field electrical engineer.
The top three skills for a field electrical engineer include electrical systems, oil gas and control systems. The most important skills for an instrumentation & control engineer are PLC, HMI, and SCADA.
| Field Electrical Engineer | Instrumentation & Control Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $86,347 | $92,464 |
| Hourly rate | $41.51 | $44.45 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 97,684 | 51,065 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 78% |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Buildings must be safe especially in term of wirings for electricity. This aspect is the main job of a field electrical engineer. Possessing enough mathematical, chemistry and physics knowledge, they work hand in hand with construction workers to develop safe and equitable electrical system of any building. They also test machines for any defect and design and develop new systems to further enhance safety. They have the necessary ability to solve any damage to equipment.
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.
Field electrical engineers and instrumentation & control engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Field Electrical Engineer | Instrumentation & Control Engineer | |
| Average salary | $86,347 | $92,464 |
| Salary range | Between $67,000 And $111,000 | Between $70,000 And $121,000 |
| Highest paying City | Vancouver, WA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | Washington |
| Best paying company | Amazon | Marathon Petroleum |
| Best paying industry | Energy | Energy |
There are a few differences between a field electrical engineer and an instrumentation & control engineer in terms of educational background:
| Field Electrical Engineer | Instrumentation & Control Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 78% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Michigan Technological University | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between field electrical engineers' and instrumentation & control engineers' demographics:
| Field Electrical Engineer | Instrumentation & Control Engineer | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 94.2% Female, 5.8% | Male, 90.2% Female, 9.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 5.0% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 11.6% Asian, 14.3% White, 64.2% 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% |