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The differences between highway engineers and senior structural 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 senior structural engineer. Additionally, a senior structural engineer has an average salary of $94,406, which is higher than the $71,538 average annual salary of a highway engineer.
The top three skills for a highway engineer include autocad, highway design and civil 3d. The most important skills for a senior structural engineer are structural analysis, rehabilitation, and RISA.
| Highway Engineer | Senior Structural Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $71,538 | $94,406 |
| Hourly rate | $34.39 | $45.39 |
| Growth rate | 7% | 7% |
| Number of jobs | 24,499 | 38,584 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| 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 Senior Structural Engineer is responsible for investigating and analyzing different construction problems. They must determine the causes of defects of buildings' envelopes, roofs, walls, and other parts of construction.
Highway engineers and senior structural engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Highway Engineer | Senior Structural Engineer | |
| Average salary | $71,538 | $94,406 |
| Salary range | Between $55,000 And $92,000 | Between $70,000 And $125,000 |
| Highest paying City | Los Angeles, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Parsons | Rivian |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Transportation |
There are a few differences between a highway engineer and a senior structural engineer in terms of educational background:
| Highway Engineer | Senior Structural Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| 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 senior structural engineers' demographics:
| Highway Engineer | Senior Structural Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 92.9% Female, 7.1% | Male, 91.0% Female, 9.0% |
| 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, 3.5% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 17.8% White, 63.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |