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The differences between plumbing designers and chief engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a plumbing designer and a chief engineer. Additionally, a chief engineer has an average salary of $108,050, which is higher than the $61,468 average annual salary of a plumbing designer.
The top three skills for a plumbing designer include revit, plumbing and fire protection. The most important skills for a chief engineer are HVAC, plumbing, and customer service.
| Plumbing Designer | Chief Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $61,468 | $108,050 |
| Hourly rate | $29.55 | $51.95 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 44,975 | 88,473 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 42% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
Plumbing Designers are responsible for developing plumbing and drainage systems for residential or commercial areas. Their duties include providing design specifications to clients, producing schematics, achieving key performance metrics, and conducting quality assurance assessments. They contribute technical content for marketing purposes, sourcing equipment, and guiding internal departments on installation procedures. Plumbing Designers also prepare client proposals, supervise junior staff, and provide staff training sessions.
A chief engineer is responsible for monitoring the engineering department's overall operations, ensuring performance efficiency, and everyone's strict compliance with the safety standards and regulatory procedures. Chief engineers manage the distribution of the tasks to the team, communicate with the clients and management for instructions and specifications, monitor expenses and forecast sales reports, analyze and approve designs, negotiate contracts, and process disputes. A chief engineer must have excellent knowledge of the engineering disciplines and exemplary leadership skills to handle the team's performance towards the company's objectives.
Plumbing designers and chief engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Plumbing Designer | Chief Engineer | |
| Average salary | $61,468 | $108,050 |
| Salary range | Between $43,000 And $85,000 | Between $65,000 And $177,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Palo Alto, CA |
| Highest paying state | Connecticut | California |
| Best paying company | Belcan | BGC Partners |
| Best paying industry | Construction | Transportation |
There are a few differences between a plumbing designer and a chief engineer in terms of educational background:
| Plumbing Designer | Chief Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 42% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Drafting And Design | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Carnegie Mellon University | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between plumbing designers' and chief engineers' demographics:
| Plumbing Designer | Chief Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 87.4% Female, 12.6% | Male, 96.2% Female, 3.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 10.3% White, 72.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 3.5% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.9% Asian, 10.2% White, 71.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |