Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between refrigeration engineers and staff 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 staff engineer. Additionally, a staff engineer has an average salary of $107,530, 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 a staff engineer are java, python, and architecture.
| Refrigeration Engineer | Staff Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $88,921 | $107,530 |
| Hourly rate | $42.75 | $51.70 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 64,405 | 277,011 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 43% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| 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.
Staff engineers are responsible for designing, developing, and inspecting various products, equipment, or structures. These professionals may perform varied duties depending on their specialization that includes overseeing the design and construction of buildings, bridges, sewer systems, and other infrastructure, estimating the financial costs of construction projects, and ensuring compliance with health and safety laws and regulations. Other duties include designing and developing machinery, tools, and engines, solving design problems, and building the manufacturing equipment needed to create their products.
Refrigeration engineers and staff engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Refrigeration Engineer | Staff Engineer | |
| Average salary | $88,921 | $107,530 |
| Salary range | Between $62,000 And $125,000 | Between $69,000 And $167,000 |
| Highest paying City | Newark, CA | San Mateo, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Standex International | Flexport |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Telecommunication |
There are a few differences between a refrigeration engineer and a staff engineer in terms of educational background:
| Refrigeration Engineer | Staff Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 43% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Most common major | Heating And Air Conditioning | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Duke University | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between refrigeration engineers' and staff engineers' demographics:
| Refrigeration Engineer | Staff Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 99.0% Female, 1.0% | Male, 87.9% Female, 12.1% |
| 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, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 16.8% White, 67.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |