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The differences between outside plant engineers and electrical 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 engineer. Additionally, an outside plant engineer has an average salary of $85,603, which is higher than the $81,026 average annual salary of an electrical engineer.
The top three skills for an outside plant engineer include CAD, outside plant and OSP. The most important skills for an electrical engineer are autocad, electrical systems, and UL.
| Outside Plant Engineer | Electrical Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $85,603 | $81,026 |
| Hourly rate | $41.16 | $38.95 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 34,742 | 68,536 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 70% | Bachelor's Degree, 76% |
| 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.
Electrical engineers are responsible for designing and developing new electrical systems, solving issues, and testing equipment. They work on various technologies, including telecommunication systems, satellite communications, and electrical power stations. Electrical engineers study and apply the mathematics and physics of electromagnetism, electronics, and electricity to small and large-scale electrical systems to transmit energy and process information. They often work with all types of electronic devices, such as supercomputers and power transmission. They also work in the emerging field of microelectronics.
Outside plant engineers and electrical engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Outside Plant Engineer | Electrical Engineer | |
| Average salary | $85,603 | $81,026 |
| Salary range | Between $62,000 And $117,000 | Between $59,000 And $109,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Redmond, WA |
| 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 engineer in terms of educational background:
| Outside Plant Engineer | Electrical Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 70% | Bachelor's Degree, 76% |
| 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 engineers' demographics:
| Outside Plant Engineer | Electrical Engineer | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 85.5% Female, 14.5% | Male, 90.0% Female, 10.0% |
| 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, 11.1% Asian, 16.2% White, 63.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |