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Solar engineer vs senior electrical designer

The differences between solar engineers and senior electrical 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 a senior electrical designer. Additionally, a senior electrical designer has an average salary of $87,859, 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 a senior electrical designer are electrical design, revit, and electrical equipment.

Solar engineer vs senior electrical designer overview

Solar EngineerSenior Electrical Designer
Yearly salary$77,229$87,859
Hourly rate$37.13$42.24
Growth rate3%3%
Number of jobs40,95178,838
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 65%Associate Degree, 50%
Average age4545
Years of experience22

Solar engineer vs senior electrical designer salary

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

Solar EngineerSenior Electrical Designer
Average salary$77,229$87,859
Salary rangeBetween $53,000 And $111,000Between $66,000 And $116,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CACeres, CA
Highest paying stateWashingtonAlaska
Best paying companyWEC Energy GroupLam Research
Best paying industryUtilitiesManufacturing

Differences between solar engineer and senior electrical designer education

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

Solar EngineerSenior Electrical Designer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 65%Associate Degree, 50%
Most common majorElectrical EngineeringElectrical Engineering
Most common collegeCornell UniversityMichigan Technological University

Solar engineer vs senior electrical designer demographics

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

Solar EngineerSenior Electrical Designer
Average age4545
Gender ratioMale, 89.9% Female, 10.1%Male, 89.2% Female, 10.8%
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, 4.8% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 11.0% Asian, 14.5% White, 64.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage6%6%

Differences between solar engineer and senior electrical 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

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

Solar engineer vs senior electrical designer skills

Common solar engineer skills
  • Renewable Energy, 41%
  • System Design, 9%
  • Solar PV, 8%
  • Solar Projects, 7%
  • Pvsyst, 7%
  • Solar Design, 4%
Common senior electrical designer skills
  • Electrical Design, 9%
  • Revit, 6%
  • Electrical Equipment, 5%
  • Electrical Systems, 5%
  • Autocad Electrical, 5%
  • NEC, 4%

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