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The differences between building inspectors and structures 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 building inspector and a structures engineer. Additionally, a structures engineer has an average salary of $73,391, which is higher than the $51,781 average annual salary of a building inspector.
The top three skills for a building inspector include plumbing, customer service and building construction. The most important skills for a structures engineer are structural analysis, revit, and RISA.
| Building Inspector | Structures Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $51,781 | $73,391 |
| Hourly rate | $24.89 | $35.28 |
| Growth rate | -4% | 7% |
| Number of jobs | 20,962 | 20,778 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 44% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Average age | 50 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A building inspector is responsible for inspecting the safety and security of the building location, including its structural quality and construction documents. Building inspectors coordinate with landowners or institutions to verify code regulations compliance and submit work orders and permits. They also provide expense forecasting for development, identifying cost-reduction techniques by recommending trusted suppliers and third-party vendors on construction materials with the highest quality. A building inspector must have excellent communication and analytical skills, especially on negotiating contracts and processing occupation permits.
A structures engineer works in designing, planning, and overseeing the development of the latest buildings and bridges or modifications and extensions to an existing property or other structures. They are mainly concerned with the safety and capability of the structure to withstand the elements to which they will be exposed--also improving the existing building structural integrity. Part of the task is inspecting properties regarding the conditions/foundation and checking work undertaken by contractors. The job is very similarly related to a civil engineer.
Building inspectors and structures engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Building Inspector | Structures Engineer | |
| Average salary | $51,781 | $73,391 |
| Salary range | Between $31,000 And $84,000 | Between $54,000 And $98,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Icma-rc | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a building inspector and a structures engineer in terms of educational background:
| Building Inspector | Structures Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 44% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Business | Civil Engineering |
| Most common college | San Diego State University | Carnegie Mellon University |
Here are the differences between building inspectors' and structures engineers' demographics:
| Building Inspector | Structures Engineer | |
| Average age | 50 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 88.9% Female, 11.1% | Male, 84.9% Female, 15.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.4% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 13.1% Asian, 3.4% White, 68.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% | Black or African American, 3.5% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 10.3% Asian, 17.3% White, 64.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |