Solar Energy Systems Engineers: Salary, Job Description, How To Become One, and Quiz

Job description

Solar Energy Systems Engineers perform site-specific engineering analysis or evaluation of energy efficiency and solar projects involving residential, commercial, or industrial customers. Design solar domestic hot water and space heating systems for new and existing structures, applying knowledge of structural energy requirements, local climates, solar technology, and thermodynamics.

• Create plans for solar energy system development, monitoring, and evaluation activities.
• Conduct engineering site audits to collect structural, electrical, and related site information for use in the design of residential or commercial solar power systems.
• Design or coordinate design of photovoltaic (PV) or solar thermal systems, including system components, for residential and commercial buildings.
• Create electrical single-line diagrams, panel schedules, or connection diagrams for solar electric systems, using computer-aided design (CAD) software.

Salary

Solar Energy Systems Engineers with little to no experience tend to make between $50750 and $69890 while the more experienced ones can earn over $126200 per year.

One of the easiest ways to increase your salary as a Solar Energy Systems Engineer is to move to a higher paying state like DC. Right now, the highest paying states for Solar Energy Systems Engineers are DC, MD, VA, AL and NJ.

However, a higher pay at DC doesn’t guarantee that you will make more because the living expenses at DC might be twice as high than where you are currently at now.

Three other factors that can increase your salary as a Solar Energy Systems Engineer is the degree you hold, the industry you work in, and lastly the company you work for.

Requirements

We asked other Solar Energy Systems Engineers what degree they had when they got the job and most of them said they had a Bachelor’s Degree followed by a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate.

Other than that, we also asked them what did they major in and here are the most popular majors that came up.

Pros and Cons

Here are some of the pros and cons of being a Solar Energy Systems Engineer.

What is the job like

70% of Solar Energy Systems Engineers said they were satisfied with their job and 60% said they feel like their job is making other people’s lives better.

Is this right for me

You can read more about these career personality types here.

People who are suitable for this job tends to like work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They like working with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery..

They also like working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. They like searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

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