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The differences between field engineers and service engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a field engineer, becoming a service engineer takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a service engineer has an average salary of $87,151, which is higher than the $71,874 average annual salary of a field engineer.
The top three skills for a field engineer include customer service, customer satisfaction and project management. The most important skills for a service engineer are customer service, infrastructure, and cloud.
| Field Engineer | Service Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $71,874 | $87,151 |
| Hourly rate | $34.55 | $41.90 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 86,015 | 143,806 |
| Job satisfaction | 3 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 57% |
| Average age | 45 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 6 |
A field engineer's role will vary on the industry or line of work involved. However, the primary responsibility will mostly revolve around handling equipment and machinery, ensuring that they function effectively and safely. It is also the task of a field engineer to oversee the workflow and workforce, giving directions and recommendations when necessary. Furthermore, a field engineer must develop strategies and plans to improve the site's efficiency, produce progress reports, and coordinate with other workers.
A service engineer is responsible for assisting the customers' concerns regarding the products and services offered by the company through technical support solutions. Service engineers conduct preventive maintenance, upgrade systems to boost optimal performance, create product manuals, record the occurring issues, perform adjustments on the systems infrastructure, identify business opportunities to generate more revenues, and analyze current market trends to meet client demands. A service engineer must have excellent communication skills, including extensive knowledge of the technology industry and network systems.
Field engineers and service engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Field Engineer | Service Engineer | |
| Average salary | $71,874 | $87,151 |
| Salary range | Between $51,000 And $99,000 | Between $62,000 And $122,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Energy | Technology |
There are a few differences between a field engineer and a service engineer in terms of educational background:
| Field Engineer | Service Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 57% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between field engineers' and service engineers' demographics:
| Field Engineer | Service Engineer | |
| Average age | 45 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 92.7% Female, 7.3% | Male, 91.8% Female, 8.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.9% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 11.5% Asian, 14.3% White, 64.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 3.3% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 8.9% Asian, 13.2% White, 69.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 5% |