How To Become A Solar Mechanical Engineer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a solar mechanical engineer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Libby Toping

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a solar mechanical engineer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $45.29 an hour? That's $94,202 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 2% and produce 6,400 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a solar mechanical engineer?

Libby Toping

Engineer intern, Crafton Tull

It has definitely been a unique time to start my first job. COVID-19 has caused many of my peers to struggle to find a job, so I think it has caused me to recognize how thankful I am to have a job that I enjoy working and that allows me to improve my community, even in the midst of a pandemic. There are certainly struggles with virtual meetings and mask-wearing, but learning to be flexible and adaptable are skills that I think will make me a better engineer in the long run!

ScoreSolar Mechanical EngineerUS Average

Salary

7.4

Avg. Salary $94,202

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.4

Growth rate 2%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.10%

Asian 11.14%

Black or African American 2.77%

Hispanic or Latino 6.48%

Unknown 4.43%

White 75.08%

Gender

female 0.00%

male 100.00%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress level

7.4

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.6

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.1

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a solar mechanical engineer

Explore solar mechanical engineer education requirements

Most common solar mechanical engineer degrees

Bachelor's

50.0 %

Associate

25.0 %

Master's

12.5 %

Start to develop specific solar mechanical engineer skills

Skills	Percentages
GD	79.77%
Solar Power	20.23%

Complete relevant solar mechanical engineer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New solar mechanical engineers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a solar mechanical engineer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real solar mechanical engineer resumes.

Research solar mechanical engineer duties and responsibilities

Provide mechanical design and sustaining engineering expertise to troubleshoot manufacturing defect trends and achieve a more robust and producible product.
Create drawing changes and engineering change orders (ECO) when issues arise in manufacturing hardware.
Perform multiple augments installing and adding new devices/servers along with adding configurations for video streaming using Unix and checking router configurations.
Conduct PCB components IDF converting and interference studies using CircuitWorks.

Apply for solar mechanical engineer jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a solar mechanical engineer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams