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Solar engineer vs senior field engineer

The differences between solar engineers and senior field 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 field engineer. Additionally, a senior field engineer has an average salary of $97,104, 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 field engineer are RF, technical support, and excellent interpersonal.

Solar engineer vs senior field engineer overview

Solar EngineerSenior Field Engineer
Yearly salary$77,229$97,104
Hourly rate$37.13$46.68
Growth rate3%3%
Number of jobs40,95186,767
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 65%Bachelor's Degree, 53%
Average age4545
Years of experience22

Solar engineer vs senior field engineer salary

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

Solar EngineerSenior Field Engineer
Average salary$77,229$97,104
Salary rangeBetween $53,000 And $111,000Between $67,000 And $139,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateWashingtonCalifornia
Best paying companyWEC Energy GroupApple
Best paying industryUtilitiesEnergy

Differences between solar engineer and senior field engineer education

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

Solar EngineerSenior Field Engineer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 65%Bachelor's Degree, 53%
Most common majorElectrical EngineeringElectrical Engineering
Most common collegeCornell UniversityMichigan Technological University

Solar engineer vs senior field engineer demographics

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

Solar EngineerSenior Field Engineer
Average age4545
Gender ratioMale, 89.9% Female, 10.1%Male, 95.1% Female, 4.9%
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, 64.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage6%6%

Differences between solar engineer and senior field 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 field engineer example responsibilities.

  • Manage a team of 10 engineers to install and repair commercial HVAC and refrigeration units.
  • Promote from original position as a staff engineer managing a variety of geotechnical engineering activities to a field engineer inspector position.
  • Upgrade firmware on all components in the SAN.
  • Provide UNIX host setup and provide administration for the duration of the engagement.
  • Work with vendor partners to troubleshoot hardware and software issues with core nodes.
  • Perform site acceptance testing and provide system maintenance support for FAA and DOD sites.
  • Show more

Solar engineer vs senior field 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 field engineer skills
  • RF, 7%
  • Technical Support, 6%
  • Excellent Interpersonal, 6%
  • Technical Problems, 5%
  • Test Equipment, 5%
  • Linux, 4%

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