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The differences between operations engineers and contracting engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both an operations engineer and a contracting engineer. Additionally, a contracting engineer has an average salary of $122,620, which is higher than the $91,522 average annual salary of an operations engineer.
The top three skills for an operations engineer include python, cloud and AWS. The most important skills for a contracting engineer are C++, C #, and R.
| Operations Engineer | Contracting Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $91,522 | $122,620 |
| Hourly rate | $44.00 | $58.95 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 155,188 | 115,631 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
An operations engineer is an individual who is responsible for ensuring that the operations of a company are working properly in industries such as manufacturing or shipping. Operations engineers are required to handle repairs or upgrades to the company's machinery and coordinate with department heads to assist in fine-tuning their operations system. When they have upgraded their system, operations engineers should conduct training with managers as well as employees and other workers. They are also required to examine machinery for defects and communicate maintenance schedules with department heads.
A contracting engineer specializes in overseeing engineering projects, focusing on the legalities of contracts between clients and engineers to ensure fairness in all parties involved. Most of their duties are administrative, such as gathering and analyzing data, conducting research and analyses, setting budgets and guidelines, drafting commercial tenders and other paperwork, maintaining records, and executing contracts. They are also responsible for handling contract issues and concerns, solving them promptly and efficiently. Additionally, a contracting engineer maintains an open communication line with all parties to ensure a smooth workflow.
Operations engineers and contracting engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Operations Engineer | Contracting Engineer | |
| Average salary | $91,522 | $122,620 |
| Salary range | Between $63,000 And $132,000 | Between $86,000 And $173,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | California | New York |
| Best paying company | Apple | EquiLend |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Professional |
There are a few differences between an operations engineer and a contracting engineer in terms of educational background:
| Operations Engineer | Contracting Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Michigan Technological University | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between operations engineers' and contracting engineers' demographics:
| Operations Engineer | Contracting Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 89.9% Female, 10.1% | Male, 88.2% Female, 11.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.2% Asian, 10.6% White, 72.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 3.5% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.6% Asian, 11.8% White, 70.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |