Mechanical contractor vs engineer

The differences between mechanical contractors and 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 mechanical contractor and an engineer. Additionally, an engineer has an average salary of $92,077, which is higher than the $72,882 average annual salary of a mechanical contractor.

The top three skills for a mechanical contractor include plumbing, CAD and preventive maintenance. The most important skills for an engineer are python, cloud, and C++.

Mechanical contractor vs engineer overview

	Mechanical Contractor	Engineer
Yearly salary	$72,882	$92,077
Hourly rate	$35.04	$44.27
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	28,897	618,207
Job satisfaction	-	4.33
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 43%	Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Average age	41	41
Years of experience	6	6

Mechanical contractor vs engineer salary

Mechanical contractors and engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Mechanical Contractor	Engineer
Average salary	$72,882	$92,077
Salary range	Between $53,000 And $100,000	Between $65,000 And $130,000
Highest paying City	-	Huntsville, AL
Highest paying state	-	New Hampshire
Best paying company	-	Fort Bend County
Best paying industry	-	Automotive

Differences between mechanical contractor and engineer education

There are a few differences between a mechanical contractor and an engineer in terms of educational background:

	Mechanical Contractor	Engineer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 43%	Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Most common major	Mechanical Engineering	Mechanical Engineering
Most common college	Michigan Technological University	Michigan Technological University

Mechanical contractor vs engineer demographics

Here are the differences between mechanical contractors' and engineers' demographics:

	Mechanical Contractor	Engineer
Average age	41	41
Gender ratio	Male, 90.3% Female, 9.7%	Male, 86.3% Female, 13.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 10.3% White, 72.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%	Black or African American, 3.3% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.1% Asian, 15.0% White, 67.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between mechanical contractor and engineer duties and responsibilities

Mechanical contractor example responsibilities.

Lead all CFD and FEA (shock and vibration) efforts, including product-performance optimization and impact of DFMA.
Lead weekly toolbox safety meetings, and monitor work to ensure full compliance with OSHA / HAZWHOPPER compliance requirements.
Manage paperwork associate with HVAC procedures.
Perform service calls on all types of heating and a/c equipment.
Service A/C units up to 40 ton.
Install 2 to 4 PVC and CPVC piping for wastes off of equipment.

Engineer example responsibilities.

Manage startup, trouble shooting and testing of PLC control equipment.
Lead project team to design and FDA validate 10-up extreme accuracy vial dosing system and CIP/SIP automate cleaning equipment.
Automate the creation of a WebLogic Admin and manage server deployment scheme within an installer for secure application deployment.
Install and test PLC in client own equipment on site - solve some logical and hardware issues to accomplish goal
Implement and manage continuous delivery systems and methodologies on AWS.
Manage Terraform and refactore from monolithic to application specific components.

Mechanical contractor vs engineer skills

Common mechanical contractor skills

Plumbing, 14%
CAD, 9%
Preventive Maintenance, 8%
Mechanical Systems, 7%
Ice Machines, 4%
Heat Pumps, 4%

Common engineer skills

Python, 8%
Cloud, 6%
C++, 5%
C #, 5%
AWS, 5%
Java, 4%