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The differences between resident engineers and design 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 resident engineer and a design engineer. Additionally, a resident engineer has an average salary of $96,425, which is higher than the $77,134 average annual salary of a design engineer.
The top three skills for a resident engineer include infrastructure, PE and construction projects. The most important skills for a design engineer are C++, UL, and project management.
| Resident Engineer | Design Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $96,425 | $77,134 |
| Hourly rate | $46.36 | $37.08 |
| Growth rate | 7% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 31,388 | 138,173 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
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.
A design engineer is responsible for creating systems and applications based on their expertise. Design engineers work through client specifications based on business needs. A design engineer also provides recommendations on improving existing systems to boost its performance and increase efficiency. Design engineers must have an excellent command of computer systems, programming codes, and technical data to ensure the system's stability and high-quality processes. A design engineer should also have strong analytical and time-management skills to perform tasks and meet deadlines.
Resident engineers and design engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Resident Engineer | Design Engineer | |
| Average salary | $96,425 | $77,134 |
| Salary range | Between $70,000 And $132,000 | Between $57,000 And $102,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | |
| Best paying industry | Telecommunication | Technology |
There are a few differences between a resident engineer and a design engineer in terms of educational background:
| Resident Engineer | Design Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Most common major | Civil Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between resident engineers' and design engineers' demographics:
| Resident Engineer | Design Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 90.7% Female, 9.3% | Male, 88.9% Female, 11.1% |
| Race ratio | Black 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, 3.2% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 8.2% Asian, 16.8% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |