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The differences between highway engineers and civil 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 highway engineer and a civil engineer. Additionally, a highway engineer has an average salary of $71,538, which is higher than the $70,950 average annual salary of a civil engineer.
The top three skills for a highway engineer include autocad, highway design and civil 3d. The most important skills for a civil engineer are civil 3d, engineering design, and cost estimates.
| Highway Engineer | Civil Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $71,538 | $70,950 |
| Hourly rate | $34.39 | $34.11 |
| Growth rate | 7% | 7% |
| Number of jobs | 24,499 | 26,803 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 77% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
Highway Engineers are responsible for the design and implementation of road network projects. They are involved in road network maintenance, local road schemes designing, supervising construction teams, preparing tender contract documents, and administering risk assessments. Other duties include preparing construction cost estimates and ensuring health and safety directives are adhered to and prepare the project budget. Highway engineers also work with multi-stakeholders such as transport specialists, the public, and the client to deliver within the timeline.
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.
Highway engineers and civil engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Highway Engineer | Civil Engineer | |
| Average salary | $71,538 | $70,950 |
| Salary range | Between $55,000 And $92,000 | Between $51,000 And $97,000 |
| Highest paying City | Los Angeles, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Parsons | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Construction |
There are a few differences between a highway engineer and a civil engineer in terms of educational background:
| Highway Engineer | Civil Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 77% |
| Most common major | Civil Engineering | Civil Engineering |
| Most common college | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor |
Here are the differences between highway engineers' and civil engineers' demographics:
| Highway Engineer | Civil Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 92.9% Female, 7.1% | Male, 83.6% Female, 16.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.6% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 10.5% Asian, 16.6% White, 64.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black 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% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |