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The differences between plant engineers and chemical engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a plant engineer has an average salary of $93,949, which is higher than the $89,449 average annual salary of a chemical engineer.
The top three skills for a plant engineer include HVAC, project management and plant operations. The most important skills for a chemical engineer are chemistry, technical support, and co-op.
| Plant Engineer | Chemical Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $93,949 | $89,449 |
| Hourly rate | $45.17 | $43.00 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 14% |
| Number of jobs | 44,391 | 42,176 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 78% |
| Average age | 48 | 41 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
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.
A chemical engineer provides support for chemical operations and testing new processes. The processes they successfully come up with are used to make different products from gas, oil, food, and drink. It is their job to assist in designing new chemical processes and make improvements. They implement fresh ideas to improve standard quality and efficiency. They must be good planners and schedulers of project activities to help chemical technicians to achieve their project objectives and provide technical support to maintain safe, stable, and reliable operations.
Plant engineers and chemical engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Plant Engineer | Chemical Engineer | |
| Average salary | $93,949 | $89,449 |
| Salary range | Between $67,000 And $130,000 | Between $67,000 And $119,000 |
| Highest paying City | Berkeley, CA | Sugar Land, TX |
| Highest paying state | California | Texas |
| Best paying company | Bunge | BP America Inc |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | Energy |
There are a few differences between a plant engineer and a chemical engineer in terms of educational background:
| Plant Engineer | Chemical Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 78% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Chemical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Georgia Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between plant engineers' and chemical engineers' demographics:
| Plant Engineer | Chemical Engineer | |
| Average age | 48 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 92.3% Female, 7.7% | Male, 74.1% Female, 25.9% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 3.6% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.2% Asian, 21.3% White, 60.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 9% |