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Solar engineer vs associate electrical engineer

The differences between solar engineers and associate electrical 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 solar engineer and an associate electrical engineer. Additionally, a solar engineer has an average salary of $77,229, which is higher than the $71,773 average annual salary of an associate electrical engineer.

The top three skills for a solar engineer include renewable energy, system design and solar pv. The most important skills for an associate electrical engineer are electrical components, electrical equipment, and RF.

Solar engineer vs associate electrical engineer overview

Solar EngineerAssociate Electrical Engineer
Yearly salary$77,229$71,773
Hourly rate$37.13$34.51
Growth rate3%3%
Number of jobs40,95131,707
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 65%Bachelor's Degree, 51%
Average age4545
Years of experience22

Solar engineer vs associate electrical engineer salary

Solar engineers and associate electrical engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Solar EngineerAssociate Electrical Engineer
Average salary$77,229$71,773
Salary rangeBetween $53,000 And $111,000Between $51,000 And $100,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateWashingtonCalifornia
Best paying companyWEC Energy GroupMcKinsey & Company Inc
Best paying industryUtilitiesHospitality

Differences between solar engineer and associate electrical engineer education

There are a few differences between a solar engineer and an associate electrical engineer in terms of educational background:

Solar EngineerAssociate Electrical Engineer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 65%Bachelor's Degree, 51%
Most common majorElectrical EngineeringElectrical Engineering
Most common collegeCornell UniversityMichigan Technological University

Solar engineer vs associate electrical engineer demographics

Here are the differences between solar engineers' and associate electrical engineers' demographics:

Solar EngineerAssociate Electrical Engineer
Average age4545
Gender ratioMale, 89.9% Female, 10.1%Male, 86.6% Female, 13.4%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 4.8% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 11.1% Asian, 15.3% White, 63.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%Black or African American, 4.8% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 11.0% Asian, 14.5% White, 64.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage6%6%

Differences between solar engineer and associate electrical engineer duties and responsibilities

Solar engineer example 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.
  • Utilize Google Sketchup and Solidworks to create 3D model of PV system design.
  • Design, fabricate and debug PC board test fixtures for production PC boards.
  • Show more

Associate electrical engineer example responsibilities.

  • Assist engineers with designing and coding test fixtures using LabVIEW to automate production testing.
  • Perform experiments on RF components during development process and achieve a robust design.
  • Coordinate with senior electrical engineers and achieve hands-on experience on coal fire plant power generation and power transformers, circuit breakers.
  • Participate in the conversion of Magtek FPGA card reader microcontroller into an ASIC.
  • Upgrade, rework and troubleshoot to the component level of digital and analog circuits.
  • Design power supply, PCB layout and mechanical housing for testing tool and interface boards.
  • Show more

Solar engineer vs associate electrical engineer skills

Common solar engineer skills
  • Renewable Energy, 41%
  • System Design, 9%
  • Solar PV, 8%
  • Solar Projects, 7%
  • Pvsyst, 7%
  • Solar Design, 4%
Common associate electrical engineer skills
  • Electrical Components, 7%
  • Electrical Equipment, 6%
  • RF, 6%
  • CAD, 5%
  • Autocad, 4%
  • C++, 4%

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