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The differences between home inspectors and structures 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 home inspector and a structures engineer. Additionally, a structures engineer has an average salary of $73,391, which is higher than the $51,264 average annual salary of a home inspector.
The top three skills for a home inspector include crawl spaces, pest control and plumbing. The most important skills for a structures engineer are structural analysis, revit, and RISA.
| Home Inspector | Structures Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $51,264 | $73,391 |
| Hourly rate | $24.65 | $35.28 |
| Growth rate | -4% | 7% |
| Number of jobs | 55,491 | 20,778 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Average age | 50 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A home inspector is primarily in charge of performing inspections and assessments to identify problem areas and potential risks. Although the extent of their responsibilities depends on their line of work or company of employment, it usually includes studying and assessing the structural elements of houses such as its floors and ceilings, testing the alarm or fire detecting equipment, inspecting drainage and pipe systems, and checking appliances should there be any. Moreover, a home inspector produces detailed reports along with recommendations to help the clients in making decisions.
A structures engineer works in designing, planning, and overseeing the development of the latest buildings and bridges or modifications and extensions to an existing property or other structures. They are mainly concerned with the safety and capability of the structure to withstand the elements to which they will be exposed--also improving the existing building structural integrity. Part of the task is inspecting properties regarding the conditions/foundation and checking work undertaken by contractors. The job is very similarly related to a civil engineer.
Home inspectors and structures engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Home Inspector | Structures Engineer | |
| Average salary | $51,264 | $73,391 |
| Salary range | Between $32,000 And $82,000 | Between $54,000 And $98,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | California |
| Best paying company | - | Apple |
| Best paying industry | - | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a home inspector and a structures engineer in terms of educational background:
| Home Inspector | Structures Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Business | Civil Engineering |
| Most common college | San Diego State University | Carnegie Mellon University |
Here are the differences between home inspectors' and structures engineers' demographics:
| Home Inspector | Structures Engineer | |
| Average age | 50 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 85.7% Female, 14.3% | Male, 84.9% Female, 15.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.1% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.8% Asian, 3.4% White, 69.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% | Black or African American, 3.5% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 10.3% Asian, 17.3% White, 64.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |