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Solar engineer vs senior electrical engineer

The differences between solar engineers and senior 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 a senior electrical engineer. Additionally, a senior electrical engineer has an average salary of $109,315, 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 engineer are control systems, electrical equipment, and electrical systems.

Solar engineer vs senior electrical engineer overview

Solar EngineerSenior Electrical Engineer
Yearly salary$77,229$109,315
Hourly rate$37.13$52.56
Growth rate3%3%
Number of jobs40,95182,639
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 65%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Average age4545
Years of experience22

Solar engineer vs senior electrical engineer salary

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

Solar EngineerSenior Electrical Engineer
Average salary$77,229$109,315
Salary rangeBetween $53,000 And $111,000Between $82,000 And $144,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASeattle, WA
Highest paying stateWashingtonWashington
Best paying companyWEC Energy GroupApple
Best paying industryUtilitiesTechnology

Differences between solar engineer and senior electrical engineer education

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

Solar EngineerSenior Electrical Engineer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 65%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Most common majorElectrical EngineeringElectrical Engineering
Most common collegeCornell UniversityMichigan Technological University

Solar engineer vs senior electrical engineer demographics

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

Solar EngineerSenior Electrical Engineer
Average age4545
Gender ratioMale, 89.9% Female, 10.1%Male, 93.7% Female, 6.3%
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, 11.3% Asian, 15.5% White, 63.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage6%6%

Differences between solar engineer and senior 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

Senior electrical engineer example responsibilities.

  • Develop LabVIEW code to automate test procedures and to communicate with units for verification of functionality and accuracy.
  • Design of water/waste water facilities, including microprocessor controls, MCC, SCADA.
  • Develop the motor control algorithms and analog processing for sensing position using motor current feedback.
  • Train crews how to retrofit 2x4 fixtures.
  • Perform dc battery calculations and 2D design of system.
  • Have installed some electrical panel board according to NFPA standards.
  • Show more

Solar engineer vs senior 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 senior electrical engineer skills
  • Control Systems, 5%
  • Electrical Equipment, 5%
  • Electrical Systems, 4%
  • Analog, 4%
  • RF, 4%
  • Electrical Design, 4%

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