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Senior electrical designer vs electrical controls engineer

The differences between senior electrical designers and electrical controls engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a senior electrical designer and an electrical controls engineer. Additionally, a senior electrical designer has an average salary of $87,859, which is higher than the $82,681 average annual salary of an electrical controls engineer.

The top three skills for a senior electrical designer include electrical design, revit and electrical equipment. The most important skills for an electrical controls engineer are HMI, PLC, and allen-bradley.

Senior electrical designer vs electrical controls engineer overview

Senior Electrical DesignerElectrical Controls Engineer
Yearly salary$87,859$82,681
Hourly rate$42.24$39.75
Growth rate3%3%
Number of jobs78,83854,037
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 50%Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Average age4545
Years of experience22

What does a senior electrical designer do?

A Senior Electrical Designer is in charge of creating electrical schematics, layouts, and other grid plans for their organization, as well as providing the best solution for improvements. They supervise the material, construction, labor costs, and project timescales.

What does an electrical controls engineer do?

An electrical controls engineer is responsible for monitoring the efficiency and optimal performance of the organization's electrical tools and equipment, usually in manufacturing and warehouse settings. Electrical controls engineers use their excellent analytical and statistical skills to analyze operational processes and suggest production improvement techniques maximize productivity and reduce service delays. They conduct preventive maintenance on the equipment and machinery, including network and system configuration, to increase efficiency and accuracy. An electrical controls engineer maintains operational reports, including equipment and machinery instructional manuals for reference.

Senior electrical designer vs electrical controls engineer salary

Senior electrical designers and electrical controls engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Senior Electrical DesignerElectrical Controls Engineer
Average salary$87,859$82,681
Salary rangeBetween $66,000 And $116,000Between $62,000 And $108,000
Highest paying CityCeres, CASan Jose, CA
Highest paying stateAlaskaAlaska
Best paying companyLam ResearchTallgrass Energy
Best paying industryManufacturingAutomotive

Differences between senior electrical designer and electrical controls engineer education

There are a few differences between a senior electrical designer and an electrical controls engineer in terms of educational background:

Senior Electrical DesignerElectrical Controls Engineer
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 50%Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Most common majorElectrical EngineeringElectrical Engineering
Most common collegeMichigan Technological UniversityMichigan Technological University

Senior electrical designer vs electrical controls engineer demographics

Here are the differences between senior electrical designers' and electrical controls engineers' demographics:

Senior Electrical DesignerElectrical Controls Engineer
Average age4545
Gender ratioMale, 89.2% Female, 10.8%Male, 93.6% Female, 6.4%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 4.8% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 11.0% Asian, 14.5% White, 64.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%Black or African American, 4.9% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 11.6% Asian, 14.3% White, 64.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage6%6%

Differences between senior electrical designer and electrical controls engineer duties and responsibilities

Senior electrical designer example responsibilities.

  • Lead all phases of facility HAZWOPER projects including environmental HVAC upgrades and environmental remediation initiatives.
  • Design control systems according to NFPA 79 and IEC 204 electrical standards.
  • Coordinate safety training and ensure OSHA compliance through training and site review.
  • Design include various NFPA requirements (including fire pumps).
  • Document existing control panels, HMI, and PLC s, to move or duplicate for the new operators control building.
  • Red-Line several large instrument/Electrical packages for as-built.
  • Show more

Electrical controls engineer example responsibilities.

  • Upgrade, troubleshoot and manage control systems for multiple businesses at the site location.
  • Achieve low cost solution for professional tier radio with rug full color display and USB accessory interface.
  • Introduce UL and NFPA codes and standards into electrical control panel designs.
  • Design electrical controls and safety circuits for packaging machines, applying NEC codes, UL and CSA certification.
  • Used a PID base code for precise iteration.
  • Maintain and upgrade as necessary plant DCS Ethernet interface and assure its continue operation.
  • Show more

Senior electrical designer vs electrical controls engineer skills

Common senior electrical designer skills
  • Electrical Design, 9%
  • Revit, 6%
  • Electrical Equipment, 5%
  • Electrical Systems, 5%
  • Autocad Electrical, 5%
  • NEC, 4%
Common electrical controls engineer skills
  • HMI, 12%
  • PLC, 11%
  • Allen-Bradley, 6%
  • UL, 5%
  • Hmi Programming, 4%
  • Project Management, 3%

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