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submitted 3 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) by Gulliver@lemmy.zip to c/ece@lemmy.world

What would be the salary difference between an RF design Engineer and an IC design Engineer in pourcentage.

Is there clearly one of the speciality with a higher average salary or are they more or less equivalent?

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[-] dhork@lemmy.world 4 points 3 days ago

I think the word you are looking for in English is "Design", not "Conception". A "Conception Engineer" sounds like you are helping someone make babies. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

My personal experience is largely from before AI ate everyone's jobs, so may be outdated. But my quick reaction is that an IC designer in the right area might make more than an RF designer, but IC work is highly specialized while RF design principles are applicable much more broadly.

Also, to me, "Design" corresponds to the high-level concepts. Someone still has to translate that design into a physical structure. "Layout" is still a thing that humans do, heavily aided by tools (and probably AI by now) but a human still has to oversee it all. You probably go to school to learn all the same basic Engineering concepts, but then go in a different direction post-University. I know several people who make a good living as independant PCB and RF Layout consultants, after spending several years doing the job for large electronics companies.

this post was submitted on 22 Sep 2026
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