Project inspector vs plans examiner

The differences between project inspectors and plans examiners can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a project inspector and a plans examiner. Additionally, a project inspector has an average salary of $68,048, which is higher than the $59,697 average annual salary of a plans examiner.

The top three skills for a project inspector include construction projects, asphalt and traffic control. The most important skills for a plans examiner are plumbing, customer service, and life safety.

Project inspector vs plans examiner overview

	Project Inspector	Plans Examiner
Yearly salary	$68,048	$59,697
Hourly rate	$32.72	$28.70
Growth rate	-4%	-4%
Number of jobs	58,403	4,018
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Average age	50	50
Years of experience	6	6

Project inspector vs plans examiner salary

Project inspectors and plans examiners have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Project Inspector	Plans Examiner
Average salary	$68,048	$59,697
Salary range	Between $38,000 And $119,000	Between $41,000 And $85,000
Highest paying City	Olympia, WA	Fairfield, CA
Highest paying state	Washington	California
Best paying company	Colonial Pipeline	Icma-rc
Best paying industry	-	Government

Differences between project inspector and plans examiner education

There are a few differences between a project inspector and a plans examiner in terms of educational background:

	Project Inspector	Plans Examiner
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Most common major	Civil Engineering	Architecture
Most common college	San Diego State University	University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Project inspector vs plans examiner demographics

Here are the differences between project inspectors' and plans examiners' demographics:

	Project Inspector	Plans Examiner
Average age	50	50
Gender ratio	Male, 90.2% Female, 9.8%	Male, 73.7% Female, 26.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.0% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 13.1% Asian, 3.4% White, 68.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	Black or African American, 8.1% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.9% Asian, 3.4% White, 69.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between project inspector and plans examiner duties and responsibilities

Project inspector example responsibilities.

Manage third party contractors including safety oversight, environmental design specification compliance, and similar construction specifications and requirements.
Work with OSHA as immediate response of safety issues at nuclear power plants.
Coordinate with designers drawing clarification's and RFI's to ensure contractor work progress.
Verify NCDOT bridge design plans to ensure span lengths, materials, and directions match with WIGINSinformation.
Assist with payroll functions including collecting time sheets, entering time and attendance information into automated database and disbursing paychecks.
Maintain and create engineering blue prints using AutoCAD.

Plans examiner example responsibilities.

Manage high volume case assignments to a final disposition of abatement, civil summons, criminal arrests or referral.
Issue permits to trade contractors for electrical, plumbing, mechanical, and building construction work.
Determine if licensee is compliant with the BSA, AML, UCC and NACHA operating rules.
Certify FBI digital evidence extraction technician.
Inspect HVAC system and insulation.
Ensure compliance with all applicable ADA and OSHA safety regulations.

Project inspector vs plans examiner skills

Common project inspector skills

Construction Projects, 12%
Asphalt, 8%
Traffic Control, 8%
Inspection Reports, 7%
DOT, 7%
Construction Management, 7%

Common plans examiner skills

Plumbing, 15%
Customer Service, 13%
Life Safety, 7%
Fire Protection, 5%
Community Development, 5%
International Building, 5%