Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between highway engineers and structural 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 highway engineer and a structural design engineer. Additionally, a structural design engineer has an average salary of $75,662, 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 structural design engineer are structural design, CAD, and autocad.
| Highway Engineer | Structural Design Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $71,538 | $75,662 |
| Hourly rate | $34.39 | $36.38 |
| Growth rate | 7% | 7% |
| Number of jobs | 24,499 | 57,187 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 76% |
| 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 Structural Design Engineer designs drawings, specifications, and computer models of structures for building contractors. They help design hospitals, office blocks, houses, bridges, ships, and other structures.
Highway engineers and structural design engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Highway Engineer | Structural Design Engineer | |
| Average salary | $71,538 | $75,662 |
| Salary range | Between $55,000 And $92,000 | Between $54,000 And $104,000 |
| Highest paying City | Los Angeles, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Parsons | |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a highway engineer and a structural design engineer in terms of educational background:
| Highway Engineer | Structural Design Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 76% |
| Most common major | Civil Engineering | Civil Engineering |
| Most common college | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor | Carnegie Mellon University |
Here are the differences between highway engineers' and structural design engineers' demographics:
| Highway Engineer | Structural Design Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 92.9% Female, 7.1% | Male, 88.9% Female, 11.1% |
| 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, 10.3% Asian, 17.3% White, 64.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |