Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between bridge inspectors and inspectors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a bridge inspector has an average salary of $52,316, which is higher than the $38,757 average annual salary of an inspector.
The top three skills for a bridge inspector include DOT, asphalt and construction inspection. The most important skills for an inspector are sketch, good communication, and magnetic particle.
| Bridge Inspector | Inspector | |
| Yearly salary | $52,316 | $38,757 |
| Hourly rate | $25.15 | $18.63 |
| Growth rate | -4% | -3% |
| Number of jobs | 17,216 | 17,670 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 49% | High School Diploma, 34% |
| Average age | 50 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 6 | - |
Bridge inspectors are civil engineer construction specialists whose job is to assess the conditions of bridges, ensuring public safety. The inspectors inspect any damage and deterioration of the bridges, culverts, waterways, and trestles. They are familiar with the analysis system of load rating. Their job involves monitoring construction-related activities to make sure that contractors will comply with design drawings, safety requirements, and specifications. Also, they function as a liaison project engineer between the project and field engineer.
An inspector is responsible for overseeing the overall condition of the site, ensuring that it complies with the safety standards and regulations. Inspectors' duties include monitoring the quality of the materials used, inspecting any defects and discrepancies that might compromise the operations, generating reports to assess the product costing if it meets the budget goals, and utilizing available resources in the market for the highest quality project. An inspector must have excellent decision-making and critical-thinking skills to perform comprehensive actions on risk management and service delivery.
Bridge inspectors and inspectors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Bridge Inspector | Inspector | |
| Average salary | $52,316 | $38,757 |
| Salary range | Between $33,000 And $82,000 | Between $27,000 And $54,000 |
| Highest paying City | Olympia, WA | Vancouver, WA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Louisiana |
| Best paying company | Parsons | Los Alamos National Laboratory |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a bridge inspector and an inspector in terms of educational background:
| Bridge Inspector | Inspector | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 49% | High School Diploma, 34% |
| Most common major | Civil Engineering | Business |
| Most common college | San Diego State University | - |
Here are the differences between bridge inspectors' and inspectors' demographics:
| Bridge Inspector | Inspector | |
| Average age | 50 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 94.2% Female, 5.8% | Male, 61.7% Female, 38.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.2% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.9% Asian, 3.4% White, 68.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% | Black or African American, 11.9% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 8.1% White, 56.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 4% |