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The differences between contracting engineers and design 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 contracting engineer and a design engineer. Additionally, a contracting engineer has an average salary of $122,620, which is higher than the $77,134 average annual salary of a design engineer.
The top three skills for a contracting engineer include C++, C # and R. The most important skills for a design engineer are C++, UL, and project management.
| Contracting Engineer | Design Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $122,620 | $77,134 |
| Hourly rate | $58.95 | $37.08 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 115,631 | 138,173 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A contracting engineer specializes in overseeing engineering projects, focusing on the legalities of contracts between clients and engineers to ensure fairness in all parties involved. Most of their duties are administrative, such as gathering and analyzing data, conducting research and analyses, setting budgets and guidelines, drafting commercial tenders and other paperwork, maintaining records, and executing contracts. They are also responsible for handling contract issues and concerns, solving them promptly and efficiently. Additionally, a contracting engineer maintains an open communication line with all parties to ensure a smooth workflow.
A design engineer is responsible for creating systems and applications based on their expertise. Design engineers work through client specifications based on business needs. A design engineer also provides recommendations on improving existing systems to boost its performance and increase efficiency. Design engineers must have an excellent command of computer systems, programming codes, and technical data to ensure the system's stability and high-quality processes. A design engineer should also have strong analytical and time-management skills to perform tasks and meet deadlines.
Contracting engineers and design engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Contracting Engineer | Design Engineer | |
| Average salary | $122,620 | $77,134 |
| Salary range | Between $86,000 And $173,000 | Between $57,000 And $102,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New York | California |
| Best paying company | EquiLend | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Technology |
There are a few differences between a contracting engineer and a design engineer in terms of educational background:
| Contracting Engineer | Design Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Michigan Technological University | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between contracting engineers' and design engineers' demographics:
| Contracting Engineer | Design Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 88.2% Female, 11.8% | Male, 88.9% Female, 11.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.5% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.6% Asian, 11.8% White, 70.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 3.2% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 8.2% Asian, 16.8% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |