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The differences between bridge engineers and senior structural engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a bridge engineer and a senior structural engineer. Additionally, a senior structural engineer has an average salary of $94,406, which is higher than the $78,679 average annual salary of a bridge engineer.
The top three skills for a bridge engineer include autocad, structural analysis and AASHTO. The most important skills for a senior structural engineer are structural analysis, rehabilitation, and RISA.
| Bridge Engineer | Senior Structural Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $78,679 | $94,406 |
| Hourly rate | $37.83 | $45.39 |
| Growth rate | 7% | 7% |
| Number of jobs | 16,970 | 38,584 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A bridge engineer specializes in planning and overseeing bridge construction, ensuring efficiency and safety. Their responsibilities typically revolve around understanding the needs of every project and sites, coordinating with experts, setting goals and objectives, managing the budgets and schedules, and developing procedures to optimize construction operations. Furthermore, as a bridge engineer, it is essential to lead and encourage the workforce to reach goals, all while enforcing the safety policies and regulations to maintain a safe and productive work environment for everyone.
A Senior Structural Engineer is responsible for investigating and analyzing different construction problems. They must determine the causes of defects of buildings' envelopes, roofs, walls, and other parts of construction.
Bridge engineers and senior structural engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Bridge Engineer | Senior Structural Engineer | |
| Average salary | $78,679 | $94,406 |
| Salary range | Between $59,000 And $103,000 | Between $70,000 And $125,000 |
| Highest paying City | Sacramento, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Parsons | Rivian |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Transportation |
There are a few differences between a bridge engineer and a senior structural engineer in terms of educational background:
| Bridge Engineer | Senior Structural Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Most common major | Civil Engineering | Civil Engineering |
| Most common college | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor |
Here are the differences between bridge engineers' and senior structural engineers' demographics:
| Bridge Engineer | Senior Structural Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 84.1% Female, 15.9% | Male, 91.0% Female, 9.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.5% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 10.3% Asian, 17.5% White, 63.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 3.5% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 17.8% White, 63.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |