Highway technician vs structural engineering technician

The differences between highway technicians and structural engineering technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 8-10 years to become both a highway technician and a structural engineering technician. Additionally, a structural engineering technician has an average salary of $50,784, which is higher than the $35,400 average annual salary of a highway technician.

The top three skills for a highway technician include GRASS, traffic control and CDL. The most important skills for a structural engineering technician are ACI, structural analysis, and shop drawings.

Highway technician vs structural engineering technician overview

	Highway Technician	Structural Engineering Technician
Yearly salary	$35,400	$50,784
Hourly rate	$17.02	$24.42
Growth rate	-	-
Number of jobs	8,849	66,781
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 44%	Associate Degree, 45%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	10	10

Highway technician vs structural engineering technician salary

Highway technicians and structural engineering technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Highway Technician	Structural Engineering Technician
Average salary	$35,400	$50,784
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $46,000	Between $35,000 And $72,000
Highest paying City	Cleveland, OH	-
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	-
Best paying company	Iowa Department of Transportation	-
Best paying industry	Insurance	-

Differences between highway technician and structural engineering technician education

There are a few differences between a highway technician and a structural engineering technician in terms of educational background:

	Highway Technician	Structural Engineering Technician
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 44%	Associate Degree, 45%
Most common major	Business	Civil Engineering
Most common college	Wentworth Institute of Technology	Carnegie Mellon University

Highway technician vs structural engineering technician demographics

Here are the differences between highway technicians' and structural engineering technicians' demographics:

	Highway Technician	Structural Engineering Technician
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 85.8% Female, 14.2%	Male, 90.5% Female, 9.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 10.3% Asian, 6.0% White, 68.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.1% Asian, 9.3% White, 59.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between highway technician and structural engineering technician duties and responsibilities

Highway technician example responsibilities.

Help manage the housing development; keeping it clean, in compliance with OSHA laws, and state safety laws.
Operate skagg and batwing mowers.
Lead worker on the mowing crew.
Have worked with concrete and asphalt, both removal and placement.
Overlie projects dealing with asphalt, do ditch work with all kinds of equipment.
Operate front-end loaders, mowers, chainsaws, weed trimmers, and pole saws as trained.

Structural engineering technician example responsibilities.

Manage and distribute cad standards to contributing design consultants and assist with any design issues as necessary.
Mentore other structural engineers on 2D and 3D FEA for several turbines parts.
Train and ACI certify to perform laboratory analysis of soil, concrete, and asphalt properties.
Design government research facility in STAAD using calculate design loads.
Perform tests on RF and digital electronic assemblies and systems to characterize performance, uncover specification deficiencies and repair damage circuitry.
Perform basic electrical and mechanical repairs on all kitchen equipment, refrigeration, plumbing and electrical circuits.

Highway technician vs structural engineering technician skills

Common highway technician skills

GRASS, 16%
Traffic Control, 14%
CDL, 11%
Highway Maintenance, 11%
Dump Truck, 7%
Pavement Markings, 5%

Common structural engineering technician skills

ACI, 30%
Structural Analysis, 14%
Shop Drawings, 13%
Construction Materials, 10%
Design Drawings, 8%
FEA, 7%

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Highway Technician vs Structural Engineering Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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