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The differences between outside plant engineers and electrical designers 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 designer. Additionally, an outside plant engineer has an average salary of $85,603, which is higher than the $64,930 average annual salary of an electrical designer.
The top three skills for an outside plant engineer include CAD, outside plant and OSP. The most important skills for an electrical designer are revit, electrical design, and autocad electrical.
| Outside Plant Engineer | Electrical Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $85,603 | $64,930 |
| Hourly rate | $41.16 | $31.22 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 34,742 | 82,332 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 70% | Associate Degree, 47% |
| 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 designer designs and develops electrical circuit and system layouts for electric power distribution. The responsibilities of an electrical designer include assembling electrical panels and leading a team of document control personnel in-charged to identify and organize facility maintenance drawings. The position requires good initiative, writing, speaking, and mathematical skills to accomplish such responsibilities. The job's education requirements include possessing a college degree in electrical engineering, design, or a related field.
Outside plant engineers and electrical designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Outside Plant Engineer | Electrical Designer | |
| Average salary | $85,603 | $64,930 |
| Salary range | Between $62,000 And $117,000 | Between $47,000 And $89,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | California |
| Best paying company | - | Amd |
| Best paying industry | - | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between an outside plant engineer and an electrical designer in terms of educational background:
| Outside Plant Engineer | Electrical Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 70% | Associate Degree, 47% |
| 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 designers' demographics:
| Outside Plant Engineer | Electrical Designer | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 85.5% Female, 14.5% | Male, 82.9% Female, 17.1% |
| 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, 4.8% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 11.2% Asian, 14.4% White, 64.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |