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The differences between refrigeration 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 refrigeration engineer and a service engineer. Additionally, a refrigeration engineer has an average salary of $88,921, which is higher than the $87,151 average annual salary of a service engineer.
The top three skills for a refrigeration engineer include HVAC, freon and plumbing. The most important skills for a service engineer are customer service, infrastructure, and cloud.
| Refrigeration Engineer | Service Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $88,921 | $87,151 |
| Hourly rate | $42.75 | $41.90 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 64,405 | 143,806 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 43% | Bachelor's Degree, 57% |
| 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.
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.
Refrigeration engineers and service engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Refrigeration Engineer | Service Engineer | |
| Average salary | $88,921 | $87,151 |
| Salary range | Between $62,000 And $125,000 | Between $62,000 And $122,000 |
| Highest paying City | Newark, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Standex International | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Technology |
There are a few differences between a refrigeration engineer and a service engineer in terms of educational background:
| Refrigeration Engineer | Service Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 43% | Bachelor's Degree, 57% |
| Most common major | Heating And Air Conditioning | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Duke University | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between refrigeration engineers' and service engineers' demographics:
| Refrigeration Engineer | Service Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 99.0% Female, 1.0% | Male, 91.8% Female, 8.2% |
| 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, 3.3% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 8.9% Asian, 13.2% White, 69.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |