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The differences between refrigeration engineers and operations 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 refrigeration engineer and an operations engineer. Additionally, an operations engineer has an average salary of $91,522, which is higher than the $88,921 average annual salary of a refrigeration engineer.
The top three skills for a refrigeration engineer include HVAC, freon and plumbing. The most important skills for an operations engineer are python, cloud, and AWS.
| Refrigeration Engineer | Operations Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $88,921 | $91,522 |
| Hourly rate | $42.75 | $44.00 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 64,405 | 155,188 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 43% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
Refrigeration engineers are generally called to design and oversee the fabrication of both residential and industrial refrigeration systems, as well as troubleshoot any potential problems therewith. This choice of career will require a good knowledge base of thermodynamics, as well as computer-aided design systems. Refrigeration engineers must also have an understanding of health and safety regulation standards.
An operations engineer is an individual who is responsible for ensuring that the operations of a company are working properly in industries such as manufacturing or shipping. Operations engineers are required to handle repairs or upgrades to the company's machinery and coordinate with department heads to assist in fine-tuning their operations system. When they have upgraded their system, operations engineers should conduct training with managers as well as employees and other workers. They are also required to examine machinery for defects and communicate maintenance schedules with department heads.
Refrigeration engineers and operations engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Refrigeration Engineer | Operations Engineer | |
| Average salary | $88,921 | $91,522 |
| Salary range | Between $62,000 And $125,000 | Between $63,000 And $132,000 |
| Highest paying City | Newark, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Standex International | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Technology |
There are a few differences between a refrigeration engineer and an operations engineer in terms of educational background:
| Refrigeration Engineer | Operations Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 43% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Most common major | Heating And Air Conditioning | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Duke University | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between refrigeration engineers' and operations engineers' demographics:
| Refrigeration Engineer | Operations Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 99.0% Female, 1.0% | Male, 89.9% Female, 10.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.2% Asian, 10.4% White, 72.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.2% Asian, 10.6% White, 72.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |