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The differences between outside plant engineers and electrical design 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 design engineer. Additionally, an outside plant engineer has an average salary of $85,603, which is higher than the $83,944 average annual salary of an electrical design engineer.
The top three skills for an outside plant engineer include CAD, outside plant and OSP. The most important skills for an electrical design engineer are electrical design, revit, and electrical systems.
| Outside Plant Engineer | Electrical Design Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $85,603 | $83,944 |
| Hourly rate | $41.16 | $40.36 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 34,742 | 87,121 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 70% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| 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 design engineer develops electrical systems for different applications. Electrical design engineers create system layouts and specifications. They test the systems and make some adjustments whenever necessary. The solutions they create range from component designs to large systems. The set of skills imperative for this job include good technical abilities, teamwork, motivation for extra work hours, ability to execute job under pressure, and enthusiasm. They should also be savvy in technology and innovation.
Outside plant engineers and electrical design engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Outside Plant Engineer | Electrical Design Engineer | |
| Average salary | $85,603 | $83,944 |
| Salary range | Between $62,000 And $117,000 | Between $63,000 And $110,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | Washington |
| Best paying company | - | Apple |
| Best paying industry | - | Technology |
There are a few differences between an outside plant engineer and an electrical design engineer in terms of educational background:
| Outside Plant Engineer | Electrical Design Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 70% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| 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 design engineers' demographics:
| Outside Plant Engineer | Electrical Design Engineer | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 85.5% Female, 14.5% | Male, 89.9% Female, 10.1% |
| 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, 11.3% Asian, 14.4% White, 64.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |