Post job

Solar engineer vs electrical & instrumentation designer

The differences between solar engineers and electrical & instrumentation designers 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 electrical & instrumentation designer. Additionally, an electrical & instrumentation designer has an average salary of $81,188, which is higher than the $77,229 average annual salary of a solar engineer.

The top three skills for a solar engineer include renewable energy, system design and solar pv. The most important skills for an electrical & instrumentation designer are PLC, instrumentation design, and control systems.

Solar engineer vs electrical & instrumentation designer overview

Solar EngineerElectrical & Instrumentation Designer
Yearly salary$77,229$81,188
Hourly rate$37.13$39.03
Growth rate3%3%
Number of jobs40,95181,243
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 65%Associate Degree, 53%
Average age4545
Years of experience22

Solar engineer vs electrical & instrumentation designer salary

Solar engineers and electrical & instrumentation designers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Solar EngineerElectrical & Instrumentation Designer
Average salary$77,229$81,188
Salary rangeBetween $53,000 And $111,000Between $60,000 And $109,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CA-
Highest paying stateWashington-
Best paying companyWEC Energy Group-
Best paying industryUtilities-

Differences between solar engineer and electrical & instrumentation designer education

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

Solar EngineerElectrical & Instrumentation Designer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 65%Associate Degree, 53%
Most common majorElectrical EngineeringDrafting And Design
Most common collegeCornell UniversityMichigan Technological University

Solar engineer vs electrical & instrumentation designer demographics

Here are the differences between solar engineers' and electrical & instrumentation designers' demographics:

Solar EngineerElectrical & Instrumentation Designer
Average age4545
Gender ratioMale, 89.9% Female, 10.1%Male, 85.2% Female, 14.8%
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, 4.9% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 11.5% Asian, 14.3% White, 64.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage6%6%

Differences between solar engineer and electrical & instrumentation designer 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

Electrical & instrumentation designer example responsibilities.

  • Manage database for PDF drawings and other electronic files.
  • Modify chemical process areas with new control installations, utilizing various DCS's, and PLC's on these projects.
  • Work in PDMS creating instruments, cable tray routing, locating junction boxes, remote I/O cabinets, and lighting.
  • Work include modification of existing instrument panels to accept PLC & DCS racks and wiring; update pneumatic instrumentation to electronics.
  • Develop new instrument installation detail drawings, instrument location plan drawings, instrument elevation drawings and loop diagrams for the refinery.
  • Design process plant instrumentation and electrical power systems within NEC and industry standards.
  • Show more

Solar engineer vs electrical & instrumentation designer skills

Common solar engineer skills
  • Renewable Energy, 41%
  • System Design, 9%
  • Solar PV, 8%
  • Solar Projects, 7%
  • Pvsyst, 7%
  • Solar Design, 4%
Common electrical & instrumentation designer skills
  • PLC, 8%
  • Instrumentation Design, 7%
  • Control Systems, 6%
  • I/O, 5%
  • Electrical Design, 4%
  • Panel Layouts, 4%

Browse architecture and engineering jobs