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The differences between contract designers and chief 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 contract designer and a chief engineer. Additionally, a chief engineer has an average salary of $108,050, which is higher than the $58,458 average annual salary of a contract designer.
The top three skills for a contract designer include assembly drawings, sketch and web banners. The most important skills for a chief engineer are HVAC, plumbing, and customer service.
| Contract Designer | Chief Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $58,458 | $108,050 |
| Hourly rate | $28.10 | $51.95 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 51,980 | 88,473 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
The primary duty of a Contract Designer is to deliver creative strategies and design concepts that meet the objectives of the company's project. They work with members of the sales team and/or marketing designers.
A chief engineer is responsible for monitoring the engineering department's overall operations, ensuring performance efficiency, and everyone's strict compliance with the safety standards and regulatory procedures. Chief engineers manage the distribution of the tasks to the team, communicate with the clients and management for instructions and specifications, monitor expenses and forecast sales reports, analyze and approve designs, negotiate contracts, and process disputes. A chief engineer must have excellent knowledge of the engineering disciplines and exemplary leadership skills to handle the team's performance towards the company's objectives.
Contract designers and chief engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Contract Designer | Chief Engineer | |
| Average salary | $58,458 | $108,050 |
| Salary range | Between $39,000 And $86,000 | Between $65,000 And $177,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Palo Alto, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | California |
| Best paying company | - | BGC Partners |
| Best paying industry | - | Transportation |
There are a few differences between a contract designer and a chief engineer in terms of educational background:
| Contract Designer | Chief Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Graphic Design | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Georgia Institute of Technology | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between contract designers' and chief engineers' demographics:
| Contract Designer | Chief Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 66.6% Female, 33.4% | Male, 96.2% Female, 3.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.1% Asian, 10.4% White, 72.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 3.5% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.9% Asian, 10.2% White, 71.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |