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The differences between building engineers and architects can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a building engineer and an architect. Additionally, an architect has an average salary of $86,635, which is higher than the $76,446 average annual salary of a building engineer.
The top three skills for a building engineer include HVAC, ladders and plumbing. The most important skills for an architect are cloud, java, and infrastructure.
| Building Engineer | Architect | |
| Yearly salary | $76,446 | $86,635 |
| Hourly rate | $36.75 | $41.65 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 13,440 | 94,621 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | 3 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 32% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 47 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
The job of building engineers is to provide advice on design, installation, and maintenance of energy-efficient and cost-effective systems for all building services, including lighting, water, and air conditioning. These professionals are responsible for the distribution of water supply and electricity and resolving tenants' maintenance problems such as plumbing and electrical systems. Additional duties of the building engineers include conducting tests on systems, ensuring compliance with health and safety requirements, and liaising with construction professionals like surveyors and electricians.
Architects are licensed professionals who specialize in art and science of design, building constructions, and structures. They play a vital role in the construction and not only responsible for the appearance but also the safety of users. They ensure that every structure is functional, safe, cost-effective, and suit the needs of the future occupants. They closely monitor the working progress to make sure that the project is built according to plan. Some architects are focused mainly on creating designs while some are exclusive in the production of building plans or "blueprints".
Building engineers and architects have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Building Engineer | Architect | |
| Average salary | $76,446 | $86,635 |
| Salary range | Between $49,000 And $116,000 | Between $54,000 And $137,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Apple | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a building engineer and an architect in terms of educational background:
| Building Engineer | Architect | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 32% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Heating And Air Conditioning | Architecture |
| Most common college | - | Cornell University |
Here are the differences between building engineers' and architects' demographics:
| Building Engineer | Architect | |
| Average age | 47 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 94.6% Female, 5.4% | Male, 76.7% Female, 23.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 20.2% Asian, 4.5% White, 59.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% | Black or African American, 2.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 11.8% Asian, 16.0% White, 65.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 2% | 15% |