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The differences between outside plant engineers and field 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 a field engineer. Additionally, an outside plant engineer has an average salary of $85,603, which is higher than the $71,874 average annual salary of a field engineer.
The top three skills for an outside plant engineer include CAD, outside plant and OSP. The most important skills for a field engineer are customer service, customer satisfaction, and project management.
| Outside Plant Engineer | Field Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $85,603 | $71,874 |
| Hourly rate | $41.16 | $34.55 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 34,742 | 86,015 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 3 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 70% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| 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.
A field engineer's role will vary on the industry or line of work involved. However, the primary responsibility will mostly revolve around handling equipment and machinery, ensuring that they function effectively and safely. It is also the task of a field engineer to oversee the workflow and workforce, giving directions and recommendations when necessary. Furthermore, a field engineer must develop strategies and plans to improve the site's efficiency, produce progress reports, and coordinate with other workers.
Outside plant engineers and field engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Outside Plant Engineer | Field Engineer | |
| Average salary | $85,603 | $71,874 |
| Salary range | Between $62,000 And $117,000 | Between $51,000 And $99,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | Washington |
| Best paying company | - | Meta |
| Best paying industry | - | Energy |
There are a few differences between an outside plant engineer and a field engineer in terms of educational background:
| Outside Plant Engineer | Field Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 70% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between outside plant engineers' and field engineers' demographics:
| Outside Plant Engineer | Field Engineer | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 85.5% Female, 14.5% | Male, 92.7% Female, 7.3% |
| 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, 11.5% Asian, 14.3% White, 64.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |