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Resident engineer vs civil designer

The differences between resident engineers and civil designers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a resident engineer and a civil designer. Additionally, a resident engineer has an average salary of $96,425, which is higher than the $58,421 average annual salary of a civil designer.

The top three skills for a resident engineer include infrastructure, PE and construction projects. The most important skills for a civil designer are civil 3d, autocad, and civil engineering.

Resident engineer vs civil designer overview

Resident EngineerCivil Designer
Yearly salary$96,425$58,421
Hourly rate$46.36$28.09
Growth rate7%7%
Number of jobs31,38857,036
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 73%Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Average age4141
Years of experience66

What does a resident engineer do?

A Resident Engineer is responsible for all planning aspects of a project. They maintain project engineering records, monitor and expedite weekly reports for accuracy, and develop and perform quality control procedures.

What does a civil designer do?

A Civil Designer plans, scales, and drafts drawings and maps for roads, bridges, and other construction projects. They work with engineers and project managers in determining material, labor, and other costs of the assigned projects.

Resident engineer vs civil designer salary

Resident engineers and civil designers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Resident EngineerCivil Designer
Average salary$96,425$58,421
Salary rangeBetween $70,000 And $132,000Between $41,000 And $81,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CAWalnut Creek, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaCalifornia
Best paying companyGoogleParsons
Best paying industryTelecommunicationConstruction

Differences between resident engineer and civil designer education

There are a few differences between a resident engineer and a civil designer in terms of educational background:

Resident EngineerCivil Designer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 73%Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Most common majorCivil EngineeringDrafting And Design
Most common collegeUniversity of Michigan - Ann ArborCarnegie Mellon University

Resident engineer vs civil designer demographics

Here are the differences between resident engineers' and civil designers' demographics:

Resident EngineerCivil Designer
Average age4141
Gender ratioMale, 90.7% Female, 9.3%Male, 82.9% Female, 17.1%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 4.1% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.1% Asian, 12.0% White, 66.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%Black or African American, 4.1% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.1% Asian, 11.2% White, 67.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage5%5%

Differences between resident engineer and civil designer duties and responsibilities

Resident engineer example responsibilities.

  • Lead municipal construction projection for maintenance and rehabilitation of internal roads.
  • Implement safe working practices base on OSHA regulations.
  • Monitor demolition activities for compliance with OSHA, NESHAPS.
  • Check AutoCAD drawing sets and take-offs on a daily basis.
  • Perform random quality checks on highway materials and prepare reports base on RFI.
  • Work involve, road paving, utility relocation, curbing and sewrline rebuilding.
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Civil designer example responsibilities.

  • Manage production of full sets of contract documents (grading, drainage, water, sewer, paving and SWPPP).
  • Create and revise detail drawings (MEP).
  • Deliver as-built MEP schematics and structural details.
  • Perform the analysis of guy communication towers using CSA-S37/01 and AISC manual guidelines.
  • Use Trimble GPS station to survey projects, upload data into trimble geomatics office3.
  • Direct or participate in surveying to lay out installations and establishreference points, grades and elevations to guide construction.
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Resident engineer vs civil designer skills

Common resident engineer skills
  • Infrastructure, 14%
  • PE, 10%
  • Construction Projects, 8%
  • Contract Administration, 5%
  • Project Management, 5%
  • Construction Inspection, 4%
Common civil designer skills
  • Civil 3D, 18%
  • Autocad, 16%
  • Civil Engineering, 8%
  • Civil Design, 4%
  • Site Design, 4%
  • GIS, 3%

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