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Civil engineering designer vs designer

The differences between civil engineering designers and designers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a civil engineering designer, becoming a designer takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a designer has an average salary of $66,347, which is higher than the $57,842 average annual salary of a civil engineering designer.

The top three skills for a civil engineering designer include civil 3d, site design and erosion control. The most important skills for a designer are sketch, customer service, and graphic design.

Civil engineering designer vs designer overview

Civil Engineering DesignerDesigner
Yearly salary$57,842$66,347
Hourly rate$27.81$31.90
Growth rate7%3%
Number of jobs102,79152,433
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 71%Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Average age4138
Years of experience612

What does a civil engineering designer do?

A civil engineering designer is responsible for creating designs for industrial systems and residential constructions through statistical analysis and data surveys. Civil engineering designers draft comprehensive design plans as part of project proposals, following the clients' specifications and business requirements. They analyze blueprints and schematics to identify resources and materials that would be highly efficient and optimal to support operational functions. A civil engineering designer must have excellent critical-thinking and technical skills, especially in utilizing computer applications and software systems to generate high-quality design deliverables.

What does a designer do?

A designer is someone who creates a master plan of the look or workings of something before it will be made. It could be tangible or intangible objects, products, procedures, laws, events, games, graphics, services, and even experiences. Designers are creative thinkers with a great eye to configure the skeletal and structural properties of the targeted output. They work in several fields, such as fashion, architecture, web graphics, and user experience. In spite of the variety of professionals in the design industry, all of them are artistic, passionate, inspiring, and emotionally connected to their projects and brands.

Civil engineering designer vs designer salary

Civil engineering designers and designers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Civil Engineering DesignerDesigner
Average salary$57,842$66,347
Salary rangeBetween $40,000 And $82,000Between $45,000 And $97,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASeattle, WA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaWashington
Best paying companyMetaMeta
Best paying industry-Technology

Differences between civil engineering designer and designer education

There are a few differences between a civil engineering designer and a designer in terms of educational background:

Civil Engineering DesignerDesigner
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 71%Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Most common majorCivil EngineeringGraphic Design
Most common collegeUniversity of Michigan - Ann ArborUniversity of Pennsylvania

Civil engineering designer vs designer demographics

Here are the differences between civil engineering designers' and designers' demographics:

Civil Engineering DesignerDesigner
Average age4138
Gender ratioMale, 80.7% Female, 19.3%Male, 56.9% Female, 43.1%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 4.0% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 11.6% Asian, 13.4% White, 66.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 10.4% White, 70.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage5%13%

Differences between civil engineering designer and designer duties and responsibilities

Civil engineering designer example responsibilities.

  • Project manage the overall reorganizing and restructuring of the telecommunication department.
  • Conduct topographical surveys using total station and GPS for design, layout, volumes and establishing boundaries.
  • Perform engineering work in water, wastewater and conveyance infrastructure.
  • Develop design reports, construction documents and specifications for water and wastewater projects.
  • Design and produce plans for commercial and residential projects using Autodesk Autocad/Civil3d, interacting with clients, subcontractors and project managers.
  • Design road intersections and bridge culverts following AASHTO specifications and MoDOT guidelines.
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Designer example responsibilities.

  • Lead & design all creative content stemming from apparel design to web identity.
  • Manage various PCB designs utilizing state of the art DFM techniques and comply with company standards.
  • Utilize CSS, DHTML, HTML, and JavaScript for cross browser, cross platform compatibility and consistency.
  • Develop different kinds of functions globally, locally for the development of forms using JavaScript, CSS.
  • Transform customer specifications into usable SolidWorks 3D models and assemblies from which all manufacturing are derived.
  • Process ECR's and ECO's using Windchill.
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Civil engineering designer vs designer skills

Common civil engineering designer skills
  • Civil 3D, 21%
  • Site Design, 6%
  • Erosion Control, 5%
  • Project Management, 4%
  • Cost Estimates, 4%
  • DOT, 4%
Common designer skills
  • Sketch, 10%
  • Customer Service, 7%
  • Graphic Design, 6%
  • CSS, 5%
  • HTML, 4%
  • PowerPoint, 4%

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