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The differences between outside plant engineers and plant engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become an outside plant engineer, becoming a plant engineer takes usually requires More than 10 years. Additionally, a plant engineer has an average salary of $93,949, which is higher than the $85,603 average annual salary of an outside plant engineer.
The top three skills for an outside plant engineer include CAD, outside plant and OSP. The most important skills for a plant engineer are HVAC, project management, and plant operations.
| Outside Plant Engineer | Plant Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $85,603 | $93,949 |
| Hourly rate | $41.16 | $45.17 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 34,742 | 44,391 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 70% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Average age | 45 | 48 |
| Years of experience | 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 Plant Engineer is responsible for directing the smooth operation of the plant. They plan and coordinate activities concerned with the design, construction, modification, and maintenance of equipment and machinery in an industrial plant.
Outside plant engineers and plant engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Outside Plant Engineer | Plant Engineer | |
| Average salary | $85,603 | $93,949 |
| Salary range | Between $62,000 And $117,000 | Between $67,000 And $130,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Berkeley, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | California |
| Best paying company | - | Bunge |
| Best paying industry | - | Automotive |
There are a few differences between an outside plant engineer and a plant engineer in terms of educational background:
| Outside Plant Engineer | Plant Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 70% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between outside plant engineers' and plant engineers' demographics:
| Outside Plant Engineer | Plant Engineer | |
| Average age | 45 | 48 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 85.5% Female, 14.5% | Male, 92.3% Female, 7.7% |
| 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, 3.8% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 13.2% Asian, 9.2% White, 69.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 8% |