How To Become A Solar Engineer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a solar engineer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Fred Garber Ph.D.

The average solar engineer salary is $77,229. The most common degree is a bachelor's degree degree with an electrical engineering major. It usually takes 1-2 years of experience to become a solar engineer. Solar engineers with a Engineer In Training Certification (EIT) certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 3% and produce 9,800 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a solar engineer?

Fred Garber Ph.D.

Professor, Electrical Engineering, Wright State University

I think the primary question, in the minds of those who are yet to graduate or are still searching, is in regard to the strength of the technical job market, especially the local job market. But you are in a position to definitively answer that question.

In you article, I would ask that you address the following:
Number of employers looking to fill and number of job offerings in the region (by engineering and computer science major) compared to last year and to the previous five years.

Any noticeable differences in job descriptions Zippia is receiving relative to work environment, benefits, starting salaries, etc.

Many of our soon-to-graduate students would be very interested in these quantitative and qualitative comparisons. Additionally, vast numbers of potential students would benefit from such information to guide their career choices.

ScoreSolar EngineerUS Average

Salary

6.0

Avg. Salary $77,229

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.7

Growth rate 3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.18%

Asian 15.26%

Black or African American 4.80%

Hispanic or Latino 11.12%

Unknown 4.70%

White 63.94%

Gender

female 10.11%

male 89.89%

Age - 44

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 44

Stress level

5.7

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.3

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.2

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a solar engineer

Explore solar engineer education requirements

Most common solar engineer degrees

Bachelor's

65.3 %

Master's

20.0 %

Associate

5.3 %

Start to develop specific solar engineer skills

Skills	Percentages
Renewable Energy	40.91%
System Design	9.40%
Solar PV	7.58%
Solar Projects	6.98%
Pvsyst	6.97%

Complete relevant solar engineer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New solar engineers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a solar engineer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real solar engineer resumes.

Research solar engineer duties and responsibilities

Install and test PLC in client own equipment on site - solve some logical and hardware issues to accomplish goal
Test, debugging and operation.
Can draw in any state with many different AHJ requirements.
Have extensive knowledge if NEC solar codes along with PGE or utility codes.

Prepare your solar engineer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your solar engineer resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a solar engineer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable solar engineer resume templates

Build a professional solar engineer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your solar engineer resume.