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The differences between building inspectors and surveyors 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 surveyor. Additionally, a building inspector has an average salary of $51,781, which is higher than the $46,875 average annual salary of a surveyor.
The top three skills for a building inspector include plumbing, customer service and building construction. The most important skills for a surveyor are GPS, survey data, and data collection.
| Building Inspector | Surveyor | |
| Yearly salary | $51,781 | $46,875 |
| Hourly rate | $24.89 | $22.54 |
| Growth rate | -4% | 1% |
| Number of jobs | 20,962 | 4,087 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 44% | Bachelor's Degree, 45% |
| Average age | 50 | 44 |
| 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 surveyor is responsible for measuring the physical boundaries of a property based on the design documents. Surveyors' duties include determining reference points using special measuring equipment, analyzing land records, evaluating the stability of the property location, verifying data to property agencies and other organizations, responding to the client's inquiries, processing legal property documents, and finalizing boundary lines and maps. A surveyor must have a broad knowledge of the land and property processes, as well as excellent research and analytical skills.
Building inspectors and surveyors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Building Inspector | Surveyor | |
| Average salary | $51,781 | $46,875 |
| Salary range | Between $31,000 And $84,000 | Between $32,000 And $67,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Diego, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Icma-rc | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Technology | - |
There are a few differences between a building inspector and a surveyor in terms of educational background:
| Building Inspector | Surveyor | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 44% | Bachelor's Degree, 45% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | San Diego State University | Pennsylvania State University |
Here are the differences between building inspectors' and surveyors' demographics:
| Building Inspector | Surveyor | |
| Average age | 50 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 88.9% Female, 11.1% | Male, 72.4% Female, 27.6% |
| 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, 3.3% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 4.9% White, 76.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 7% |