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Junior electrical engineer vs instrumentation engineer

The differences between junior electrical engineers and instrumentation 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 junior electrical engineer and an instrumentation engineer. Additionally, an instrumentation engineer has an average salary of $88,783, which is higher than the $68,365 average annual salary of a junior electrical engineer.

The top three skills for a junior electrical engineer include revit, RF and C++. The most important skills for an instrumentation engineer are PLC, autocad, and analyzers.

Junior electrical engineer vs instrumentation engineer overview

Junior Electrical EngineerInstrumentation Engineer
Yearly salary$68,365$88,783
Hourly rate$32.87$42.68
Growth rate3%3%
Number of jobs65,16545,735
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 79%Bachelor's Degree, 79%
Average age4545
Years of experience22

What does a junior electrical engineer do?

A junior electrical engineer specializes in designing and developing electrical systems, ensuring efficiency and safety. In a company setting, a junior electrical engineer typically follows the directives of managers or senior engineers, providing them with regular progress reports. They may also liaise with clients to identify their needs, produce prototypes and designs, coordinate with other technicians and engineers, and manage the workflow of projects and programs, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations. Furthermore, a junior electrical engineer may also participate in training new members of the workforce, sharing their expertise and insights along the way.

What does an instrumentation engineer do?

An instrumentation engineer specializes in designing and developing equipment to optimize business processes. Their responsibilities revolve around performing research and analysis to identify the needs of a company, coordinating with different departments to gather data, devising strategies to create new processes, and preparing reports and presentations for the executives. An instrumentation engineer mostly performs installations and repairs; they also conduct regular maintenance to ensure the efficiency of facilities. Furthermore, they must answer inquiries and resolve issues and concerns, all in adherence to the company's policies and regulations.

Junior electrical engineer vs instrumentation engineer salary

Junior electrical engineers and instrumentation engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Junior Electrical EngineerInstrumentation Engineer
Average salary$68,365$88,783
Salary rangeBetween $48,000 And $95,000Between $65,000 And $119,000
Highest paying CityFoster City, CACupertino, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaCalifornia
Best paying companyAppleApple
Best paying industryConstructionGovernment

Differences between junior electrical engineer and instrumentation engineer education

There are a few differences between a junior electrical engineer and an instrumentation engineer in terms of educational background:

Junior Electrical EngineerInstrumentation Engineer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 79%Bachelor's Degree, 79%
Most common majorElectrical EngineeringElectrical Engineering
Most common collegeMichigan Technological UniversityMichigan Technological University

Junior electrical engineer vs instrumentation engineer demographics

Here are the differences between junior electrical engineers' and instrumentation engineers' demographics:

Junior Electrical EngineerInstrumentation Engineer
Average age4545
Gender ratioMale, 89.2% Female, 10.8%Male, 91.2% Female, 8.8%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 4.8% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 11.1% Asian, 17.1% White, 62.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%Black or African American, 4.9% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 11.5% Asian, 15.5% White, 63.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage6%6%

Differences between junior electrical engineer and instrumentation engineer duties and responsibilities

Junior electrical engineer example responsibilities.

  • Coordinate with senior electrical engineers and achieve hands-on experience on coal fire plant power generation and power transformers, circuit breakers.
  • Design PLC schematics for system relaying and protection.
  • Design RTL modules in Verilog HDL to develop algorithms in Matlab, and verify them by writing test benches.
  • Upgrade a chemical exhaust scrubber with a newer PLC to allow data logging and process monitoring to meet EPA standards.
  • Coordinate with senior electrical engineers and achieve hands-on experience on coal fire plant power generation and power transformers, circuit breakers.
  • Support EMC, ESD transient testing.
  • Show more

Instrumentation engineer example responsibilities.

  • Coordinate with senior electrical engineers and achieve hands-on experience on coal fire plant power generation and power transformers, circuit breakers.
  • Develop control systems using advance controllers like PLC and DCS to improve efficiency of the system, productivity and optimize operations.
  • Perform troubleshooting on HMI's.
  • Complete monthly safety training and adhere to all OSHA mandate regulations.
  • Generate and update wiring on wiring module of SPI and prepares panel strip reports.
  • Determine and prepare all system configurations, selection of suitable devices and prepare I/O summary.
  • Show more

Junior electrical engineer vs instrumentation engineer skills

Common junior electrical engineer skills
  • Revit, 10%
  • RF, 7%
  • C++, 7%
  • Electrical Components, 6%
  • UL, 6%
  • Control Systems, 5%
Common instrumentation engineer skills
  • PLC, 8%
  • Autocad, 6%
  • Analyzers, 5%
  • Troubleshoot, 4%
  • Instrumentation Systems, 4%
  • CAD, 4%

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