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The differences between substations electrical engineers and system design 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 a system design engineer. Additionally, a system design engineer has an average salary of $107,704, 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 a system design engineer are system design, architecture, and MATLAB.
| Substations Electrical Engineer | System Design Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $88,149 | $107,704 |
| Hourly rate | $42.38 | $51.78 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 44,451 | 113,582 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| 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.
A system design engineer is an individual who participates in system design engineering and resolves manufacturing and service problems. System design engineers are required to collaborate with the system design team to research emerging technologies and develop new capabilities. They create design layouts by utilizing the use of CAD software such as AutoCad as well as supervise a group of CAD technicians. System design engineers must also provide customer service in the field and deliver individualized problem solving and system design support
Substations electrical engineers and system design engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Substations Electrical Engineer | System Design Engineer | |
| Average salary | $88,149 | $107,704 |
| Salary range | Between $68,000 And $112,000 | Between $77,000 And $149,000 |
| Highest paying City | Albuquerque, NM | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | Kiewit | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Construction | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a substations electrical engineer and a system design engineer in terms of educational background:
| Substations Electrical Engineer | System Design Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| 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 system design engineers' demographics:
| Substations Electrical Engineer | System Design 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, 11.4% Asian, 15.4% White, 63.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |