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Laboratory engineer vs service engineer

The differences between laboratory engineers and service engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a laboratory engineer and a service engineer. Additionally, a laboratory engineer has an average salary of $92,242, which is higher than the $87,151 average annual salary of a service engineer.

The top three skills for a laboratory engineer include C++, lab environment and UL. The most important skills for a service engineer are customer service, infrastructure, and cloud.

Laboratory engineer vs service engineer overview

Laboratory EngineerService Engineer
Yearly salary$92,242$87,151
Hourly rate$44.35$41.90
Growth rate2%2%
Number of jobs121,212143,806
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 68%Bachelor's Degree, 57%
Average age4141
Years of experience66

What does a laboratory engineer do?

A laboratory engineer specializes in designing and developing tools and machinery for laboratory operations, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. Their responsibilities include installing and maintaining equipment, performing extensive research and analysis, coordinating with other experts, and identifying areas needing improvement, implementing solutions as required. They must also conduct regular maintenance checks on systems, performing corrective measures promptly and efficiently. Furthermore, as a laboratory engineer, it is essential to provide technical support while implementing the facility's policies and regulations.

What does a service engineer do?

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.

Laboratory engineer vs service engineer salary

Laboratory engineers and service engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Laboratory EngineerService Engineer
Average salary$92,242$87,151
Salary rangeBetween $62,000 And $135,000Between $62,000 And $122,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaCalifornia
Best paying companyMetaThe Citadel
Best paying industryTechnologyTechnology

Differences between laboratory engineer and service engineer education

There are a few differences between a laboratory engineer and a service engineer in terms of educational background:

Laboratory EngineerService Engineer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 68%Bachelor's Degree, 57%
Most common majorElectrical EngineeringElectrical Engineering
Most common collegeMichigan Technological UniversityMichigan Technological University

Laboratory engineer vs service engineer demographics

Here are the differences between laboratory engineers' and service engineers' demographics:

Laboratory EngineerService Engineer
Average age4141
Gender ratioMale, 86.3% Female, 13.7%Male, 91.8% Female, 8.2%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 3.3% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 8.9% Asian, 14.6% White, 68.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%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 Percentage5%5%

Differences between laboratory engineer and service engineer duties and responsibilities

Laboratory engineer example responsibilities.

  • Manage test servers and clients running Solaris, Linux, XP, and BSD.
  • Manage test lab HVAC, and electrical load levels to protect and preserve assets.
  • Manage HVAC test construction in accordance with ASHRAE standards and maintain lab- testing schedule.
  • Manage multiple mobile telemetry stations consisting of RF receiving equipment, data processing front end, and display software.
  • Manage Jenkins security by providing specific access to authorize developers/testers using project base matrix authorization strategy.
  • Collaborate with engineers to create SAN environment for test cases including servers, storage and network switches.
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Service engineer example responsibilities.

  • Lead FDA remediation upgrade of medical infusion pumps used in hospitals and clinics nationwide.
  • Expand responsibilities include testing applications on newly update managed desktop image.
  • Manage RF servers and performing network troubleshooting and preventative maintenance on network elements.
  • Manage Jenkins security by providing specific access to authorize developers/testers using project base matrix authorization strategy.
  • Develop Perl scripts to automate object model and functional mapping into the application metadata and database.
  • Perform installations of operating systems such as VMWARE, Linux and windows.
  • Show more

Laboratory engineer vs service engineer skills

Common laboratory engineer skills
  • C++, 5%
  • Lab Environment, 4%
  • UL, 4%
  • Test Equipment, 4%
  • Lab Equipment, 4%
  • Data Analysis, 4%
Common service engineer skills
  • Customer Service, 7%
  • Infrastructure, 7%
  • Cloud, 7%
  • Technical Support, 5%
  • Java, 4%
  • Database, 4%

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