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Civil engineer vs resident engineer

The differences between civil engineers and resident 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 civil engineer and a resident engineer. Additionally, a resident engineer has an average salary of $96,425, which is higher than the $70,950 average annual salary of a civil engineer.

The top three skills for a civil engineer include civil 3d, engineering design and cost estimates. The most important skills for a resident engineer are infrastructure, PE, and construction projects.

Civil engineer vs resident engineer overview

Civil EngineerResident Engineer
Yearly salary$70,950$96,425
Hourly rate$34.11$46.36
Growth rate7%7%
Number of jobs26,80331,388
Job satisfaction5-
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 77%Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Average age4141
Years of experience66

What does a civil engineer do?

A civil engineer designs and supervises the construction of large-scale public works projects such as buildings, roads, tunnels, highways, airports, bridges, dams, and other substantial infrastructure. Most civil engineers work in the private industry, but some work for a government organization. Their output is almost everywhere. Many of them specialize in a specific project or practice a target profession such as in transportation, structural engineering, or geotechnical engineering. They oftentimes work at project sites, as they monitor the ongoing construction.

What does a resident engineer do?

A Resident Engineer is responsible for all planning aspects of a project. They maintain project engineering records, monitor and expedite weekly reports for accuracy, and develop and perform quality control procedures.

Civil engineer vs resident engineer salary

Civil engineers and resident engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Civil EngineerResident Engineer
Average salary$70,950$96,425
Salary rangeBetween $51,000 And $97,000Between $70,000 And $132,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaCalifornia
Best paying companyThe CitadelGoogle
Best paying industryConstructionTelecommunication

Differences between civil engineer and resident engineer education

There are a few differences between a civil engineer and a resident engineer in terms of educational background:

Civil EngineerResident Engineer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 77%Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Most common majorCivil EngineeringCivil Engineering
Most common collegeUniversity of Michigan - Ann ArborUniversity of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Civil engineer vs resident engineer demographics

Here are the differences between civil engineers' and resident engineers' demographics:

Civil EngineerResident Engineer
Average age4141
Gender ratioMale, 83.6% Female, 16.4%Male, 90.7% Female, 9.3%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 11.2% Asian, 15.6% White, 64.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%Black or African American, 4.1% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.1% Asian, 12.0% White, 66.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage5%5%

Differences between civil engineer and resident engineer duties and responsibilities

Civil engineer example responsibilities.

  • Manage production of full sets of contract documents (grading, drainage, water, sewer, paving and SWPPP).
  • Manage project programming requirements and manage HVAC design activities.
  • Project manage the overall reorganizing and restructuring of the telecommunication department.
  • Design engineer and project manager for HVAC, plumbing, and fire protection systems.
  • Support and troubleshoot Hewlett Packard printers, servers, switches, thin clients, and Cisco phone systems.
  • Handle and continuously update project documentation as as-built records and construction record reports.
  • Show more

Resident engineer example responsibilities.

  • Lead municipal construction projection for maintenance and rehabilitation of internal roads.
  • Implement safe working practices base on OSHA regulations.
  • Monitor demolition activities for compliance with OSHA, NESHAPS.
  • Check AutoCAD drawing sets and take-offs on a daily basis.
  • Perform random quality checks on highway materials and prepare reports base on RFI.
  • Work involve, road paving, utility relocation, curbing and sewrline rebuilding.
  • Show more

Civil engineer vs resident engineer skills

Common civil engineer skills
  • Civil 3D, 11%
  • Engineering Design, 7%
  • Cost Estimates, 7%
  • Project Management, 6%
  • Construction Projects, 4%
  • Engineering Projects, 4%
Common resident engineer skills
  • Infrastructure, 14%
  • PE, 10%
  • Construction Projects, 8%
  • Contract Administration, 5%
  • Project Management, 5%
  • Construction Inspection, 4%

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