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Project administrator vs project engineer

The differences between project administrators and project engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a project engineer has an average salary of $75,050, which is higher than the $52,862 average annual salary of a project administrator.

The top three skills for a project administrator include project management, purchase orders and customer service. The most important skills for a project engineer are project management, autocad, and construction management.

Project administrator vs project engineer overview

Project AdministratorProject Engineer
Yearly salary$52,862$75,050
Hourly rate$25.41$36.08
Growth rate-8%2%
Number of jobs141,253176,689
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 60%Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Average age4741
Years of experience-6

What does a project administrator do?

A project administrator is an individual who assists the project manager in the preparation, reporting, and analysis of projects. Project administrators are given tasks with administrative responsibilities such as managing the budget for supply orders, coordinating meetings with contractors, and doing site visits. They are involved with hiring staff members for a project and creating employee guidelines based on talents, skills, and abilities. Project administrators are also responsible for providing reports on the project's progress to the top management.

What does a project engineer do?

A Project Engineer develops the plan that the entire team or company will undertake. The project engineer develops the plans, strategies, and goals of a project and then gives it to the management for approval and allocation. The Project Engineer will also recommend material, equipment, and the type of personnel needed. This position is integral in the smooth flow of any project, so hiring someone to hold this position will decide the success of a project.

Project administrator vs project engineer salary

Project administrators and project engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Project AdministratorProject Engineer
Average salary$52,862$75,050
Salary rangeBetween $33,000 And $83,000Between $55,000 And $100,000
Highest paying CityBaltimore, MDRichmond, CA
Highest paying stateMarylandWashington
Best paying companyUrban InstituteApple
Best paying industryConstructionEnergy

Differences between project administrator and project engineer education

There are a few differences between a project administrator and a project engineer in terms of educational background:

Project AdministratorProject Engineer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 60%Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Most common majorBusinessMechanical Engineering
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaMassachusetts Institute of Technology

Project administrator vs project engineer demographics

Here are the differences between project administrators' and project engineers' demographics:

Project AdministratorProject Engineer
Average age4741
Gender ratioMale, 25.0% Female, 75.0%Male, 87.1% Female, 12.9%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 7.7% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.9% Asian, 8.9% White, 65.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%Black or African American, 3.3% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 14.5% White, 68.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage10%5%

Differences between project administrator and project engineer duties and responsibilities

Project administrator example responsibilities.

  • Lead organization in achieving ISO 9000 certification, which lead to future certification under both ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001.
  • Manage and execute the SharePoint business integration implementation project and become the corporate governance portal administrator.
  • Manage quality assurance checks for FDA and internal audits which result in no documentation/information error and successful completion of the audits.
  • Create and execute SQL to query DB2 databases.
  • Compose, prepare, proofread, edit and publish department correspondence.
  • Coordinate in creation and execution of QA and testing processes, test strategies and plans.
  • Show more

Project engineer example responsibilities.

  • Manage TCP/IP LAN environment for the time during implementation.
  • Support and manage the development of a CNC base electron beam drill.
  • Lead a MGPP six sigma project to improve the accuracy of 3D clutch cooling analysis
  • Manage the BHP enterprise wide migration from e-rooms to SharePoint for document management and team collaboration.
  • Manage the installation of a CNC laser cutting system with full responsibility for all aspects of the project.
  • Coordinate and manage activities of the 787-9 IPT's to complete the specific aircraft side of the test cells.
  • Show more

Project administrator vs project engineer skills

Common project administrator skills
  • Project Management, 12%
  • Purchase Orders, 8%
  • Customer Service, 7%
  • PowerPoint, 6%
  • Data Entry, 5%
  • Assist Project, 4%
Common project engineer skills
  • Project Management, 12%
  • Autocad, 7%
  • Construction Management, 6%
  • CAD, 4%
  • UL, 4%
  • Cost Estimates, 3%

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