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Microwave engineer vs circuit design engineer

The differences between microwave engineers and circuit design 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 microwave engineer and a circuit design engineer. Additionally, a circuit design engineer has an average salary of $107,694, which is higher than the $95,761 average annual salary of a microwave engineer.

The top three skills for a microwave engineer include RF, google earth and MATLAB. The most important skills for a circuit design engineer are circuit design, CMOS, and RF.

Microwave engineer vs circuit design engineer overview

Microwave EngineerCircuit Design Engineer
Yearly salary$95,761$107,694
Hourly rate$46.04$51.78
Growth rate3%3%
Number of jobs18,73070,906
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 63%Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Average age4545
Years of experience66

Microwave engineer vs circuit design engineer salary

Microwave engineers and circuit design engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Microwave EngineerCircuit Design Engineer
Average salary$95,761$107,694
Salary rangeBetween $64,000 And $142,000Between $84,000 And $137,000
Highest paying CitySan Jose, CAFederal Way, WA
Highest paying stateWashingtonRhode Island
Best paying companyRenesas ElectronicsApple
Best paying industryInternetTechnology

Differences between microwave engineer and circuit design engineer education

There are a few differences between a microwave engineer and a circuit design engineer in terms of educational background:

Microwave EngineerCircuit Design Engineer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 63%Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Most common majorElectrical EngineeringElectrical Engineering
Most common collegeNortheastern UniversityNortheastern University

Microwave engineer vs circuit design engineer demographics

Here are the differences between microwave engineers' and circuit design engineers' demographics:

Microwave EngineerCircuit Design Engineer
Average age4545
Gender ratioMale, 94.7% Female, 5.3%Male, 74.4% Female, 25.6%
Race ratioBlack 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%Black or African American, 4.6% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 10.5% Asian, 19.9% White, 60.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage6%6%

Differences between microwave engineer and circuit design engineer duties and responsibilities

Microwave engineer example responsibilities.

  • Perform detailed analysis to determine antenna size, radio equipment and frequency band to achieve maximum system performance.
  • Design of a 138kV transmission line using PLS CADD and LiDar survey points.
  • Design 5 RF PC boards in 4 months, as well as supporting documents and schematics.
  • Upgrade as well as configured the CDMA sets for new software version using ZTE PST and QPST.
  • Prepare monthly and weekly status reports for execute activities in ZAIN SD network within the assigned node.
  • Assist in design and test of antennas for airborne and groundbase EW systems including broadband, low sidelobe components.
  • Show more

Circuit design engineer example responsibilities.

  • Lead cross-site LVR task force to get full set of schematics match to functional target RTL model.
  • Process orders for VPN long distance service and manage the VPN dial plan to ensure no duplications.
  • Manage client order request generate from sales, provisioning and designing data, voice and IP network services.
  • Size transistors to reduce RC time constant in dynamic flip-flops and to achieve equivalent performance in high frequency.
  • Lead a small design team to deliver a 90 nm LP 125 MHz medium-size Gigabit Ethernet PHY DSP.
  • Manage a team that include hardware engineers, software engineers, and verifications engineers to evaluate the McORE 200 microprocessor.
  • Show more

Microwave engineer vs circuit design engineer skills

Common microwave engineer skills
  • RF, 33%
  • Google Earth, 7%
  • MATLAB, 7%
  • Network Design, 7%
  • Antenna, 5%
  • MW, 4%
Common circuit design engineer skills
  • Circuit Design, 14%
  • CMOS, 6%
  • RF, 6%
  • Verilog, 5%
  • CAD, 4%
  • FPGA, 4%

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