Post job

Job captain vs chief engineer

The differences between job captains and chief engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a job captain, becoming a chief engineer takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a chief engineer has an average salary of $108,050, which is higher than the $71,047 average annual salary of a job captain.

The top three skills for a job captain include revit, autocad and design development. The most important skills for a chief engineer are HVAC, plumbing, and customer service.

Job captain vs chief engineer overview

Job CaptainChief Engineer
Yearly salary$71,047$108,050
Hourly rate$34.16$51.95
Growth rate3%2%
Number of jobs60,14988,473
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 66%Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Average age4541
Years of experience46

What does a job captain do?

A Job Captain is responsible for overseeing the drafting process of a project and completing outstanding items or tasks that remain to be accomplished. They take direction from the Project Manager, the Project Architect, and/or the Architect of Record.

What does a chief engineer do?

A chief engineer is responsible for monitoring the engineering department's overall operations, ensuring performance efficiency, and everyone's strict compliance with the safety standards and regulatory procedures. Chief engineers manage the distribution of the tasks to the team, communicate with the clients and management for instructions and specifications, monitor expenses and forecast sales reports, analyze and approve designs, negotiate contracts, and process disputes. A chief engineer must have excellent knowledge of the engineering disciplines and exemplary leadership skills to handle the team's performance towards the company's objectives.

Job captain vs chief engineer salary

Job captains and chief engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Job CaptainChief Engineer
Average salary$71,047$108,050
Salary rangeBetween $51,000 And $97,000Between $65,000 And $177,000
Highest paying City-Palo Alto, CA
Highest paying stateRhode IslandCalifornia
Best paying company-BGC Partners
Best paying industryHospitalityTransportation

Differences between job captain and chief engineer education

There are a few differences between a job captain and a chief engineer in terms of educational background:

Job CaptainChief Engineer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 66%Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Most common majorArchitectureMechanical Engineering
Most common collegeCornell UniversityMichigan Technological University

Job captain vs chief engineer demographics

Here are the differences between job captains' and chief engineers' demographics:

Job CaptainChief Engineer
Average age4541
Gender ratioMale, 79.2% Female, 20.8%Male, 96.2% Female, 3.8%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 2.4% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 12.7% Asian, 14.5% White, 66.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%Black or African American, 3.5% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.9% Asian, 10.2% White, 71.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage15%5%

Differences between job captain and chief engineer duties and responsibilities

Job captain example responsibilities.

  • Manage complex implementations for medium to large healthcare organizations that directly impact patient care, revenue stream and regulatory compliance.
  • Provide and support creation of contract documents using Revit and AutoCAD for each project.
  • Perform design development in Revit.
  • Coordinate all documentation associate with construction, RFI s, change orders and document submissions.
  • Coordinate with outsource architectural and MEP consultants to ensure Starbucks brand standards are met, and necessary permits obtain.
  • Prepare responses and documentation to address construction relate questions, RFI's, change orders, all affidavits and field reports.
  • Show more

Chief engineer example responsibilities.

  • Lead SQL performance overhaul for SaaS web applications.
  • Manage A/E design contracts, evaluate cost proposals and provide construction inspection.
  • Maintain HVAC/R equipment and kitchen equipment throughout a number of different properties that LPC manages.
  • Manage staff, contracts, vendor relations, bids, projects, RFP's and negotiations.
  • Co-Authore OSHA VPP application and lead ongoing safety training and documentation administration.
  • Initiate and manage several CMMS programs for productivity and inventory control programs.
  • Show more

Job captain vs chief engineer skills

Common job captain skills
  • Revit, 26%
  • Autocad, 14%
  • Design Development, 6%
  • Construction Administration, 6%
  • CAD, 4%
  • BIM, 4%
Common chief engineer skills
  • HVAC, 12%
  • Plumbing, 10%
  • Customer Service, 7%
  • Life Safety Systems, 4%
  • Boilers, 4%
  • Ladders, 3%

Browse architecture and engineering jobs