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The differences between substations electrical engineers and instrumentation 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 substations electrical engineer and an instrumentation engineer. Additionally, an instrumentation engineer has an average salary of $88,783, which is higher than the $88,149 average annual salary of a substations electrical engineer.
The top three skills for a substations electrical engineer include IEEE, ac and dc. The most important skills for an instrumentation engineer are PLC, autocad, and analyzers.
| Substations Electrical Engineer | Instrumentation Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $88,149 | $88,783 |
| Hourly rate | $42.38 | $42.68 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 44,451 | 45,735 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 79% |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Substation electrical engineers are engineering professionals who design medium and high voltage substations that are used to transmit and distribute electricity. These engineers are required to maintain substation equipment specifications that are according to the current industry standards and operating policies. They must review design drawings and perform load analysis to select the overall platform's power requirements. Substation electrical engineers must also provide cost estimates for substation projects as well as prepare layout drawings for future substation expansion.
An instrumentation engineer specializes in designing and developing equipment to optimize business processes. Their responsibilities revolve around performing research and analysis to identify the needs of a company, coordinating with different departments to gather data, devising strategies to create new processes, and preparing reports and presentations for the executives. An instrumentation engineer mostly performs installations and repairs; they also conduct regular maintenance to ensure the efficiency of facilities. Furthermore, they must answer inquiries and resolve issues and concerns, all in adherence to the company's policies and regulations.
Substations electrical engineers and instrumentation engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Substations Electrical Engineer | Instrumentation Engineer | |
| Average salary | $88,149 | $88,783 |
| Salary range | Between $68,000 And $112,000 | Between $65,000 And $119,000 |
| Highest paying City | Albuquerque, NM | Cupertino, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | Kiewit | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Construction | Government |
There are a few differences between a substations electrical engineer and an instrumentation engineer in terms of educational background:
| Substations Electrical Engineer | Instrumentation Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 79% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Michigan Technological University | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between substations electrical engineers' and instrumentation engineers' demographics:
| Substations Electrical Engineer | Instrumentation Engineer | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 88.9% Female, 11.1% | Male, 91.2% Female, 8.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.8% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 11.1% Asian, 16.5% White, 62.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 4.9% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 11.5% Asian, 15.5% White, 63.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |