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The differences between outside plant engineers and electrical controls engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an outside plant engineer and an electrical controls engineer. Additionally, an outside plant engineer has an average salary of $85,603, which is higher than the $82,681 average annual salary of an electrical controls engineer.
The top three skills for an outside plant engineer include CAD, outside plant and OSP. The most important skills for an electrical controls engineer are HMI, PLC, and allen-bradley.
| Outside Plant Engineer | Electrical Controls Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $85,603 | $82,681 |
| Hourly rate | $41.16 | $39.75 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 34,742 | 54,037 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 70% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
The job of an outside plant engineer revolves around design, constructing, and maintaining plant infrastructure, engineering, and conducting route analysis of aerial and underground fiber-optic installations. Typical day-to-day duties include assisting clients in resolving issues when they arise, developing engineering plans, schedules, and costs relevant to the projects, and providing guidance on telecommunication issues. As an outside plant engineer, you need to ensure the proper installation of the infrastructure and the availability of fiber cable storage, access, and termination equipment.
An electrical controls engineer is responsible for monitoring the efficiency and optimal performance of the organization's electrical tools and equipment, usually in manufacturing and warehouse settings. Electrical controls engineers use their excellent analytical and statistical skills to analyze operational processes and suggest production improvement techniques maximize productivity and reduce service delays. They conduct preventive maintenance on the equipment and machinery, including network and system configuration, to increase efficiency and accuracy. An electrical controls engineer maintains operational reports, including equipment and machinery instructional manuals for reference.
Outside plant engineers and electrical controls engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Outside Plant Engineer | Electrical Controls Engineer | |
| Average salary | $85,603 | $82,681 |
| Salary range | Between $62,000 And $117,000 | Between $62,000 And $108,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | San Jose, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | Alaska |
| Best paying company | - | Tallgrass Energy |
| Best paying industry | - | Automotive |
There are a few differences between an outside plant engineer and an electrical controls engineer in terms of educational background:
| Outside Plant Engineer | Electrical Controls Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 70% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between outside plant engineers' and electrical controls engineers' demographics:
| Outside Plant Engineer | Electrical Controls Engineer | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 85.5% Female, 14.5% | Male, 93.6% Female, 6.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.8% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 11.1% Asian, 14.5% White, 64.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 4.9% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 11.6% Asian, 14.3% White, 64.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |