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Resident engineer vs senior structural engineer

The differences between resident engineers and senior structural 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 senior structural engineer. Additionally, a resident engineer has an average salary of $96,425, which is higher than the $94,406 average annual salary of a senior structural engineer.

The top three skills for a resident engineer include infrastructure, PE and construction projects. The most important skills for a senior structural engineer are structural analysis, rehabilitation, and RISA.

Resident engineer vs senior structural engineer overview

Resident EngineerSenior Structural Engineer
Yearly salary$96,425$94,406
Hourly rate$46.36$45.39
Growth rate7%7%
Number of jobs31,38838,584
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 73%Bachelor's Degree, 61%
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 senior structural engineer do?

A Senior Structural Engineer is responsible for investigating and analyzing different construction problems. They must determine the causes of defects of buildings' envelopes, roofs, walls, and other parts of construction.

Resident engineer vs senior structural engineer salary

Resident engineers and senior structural engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Resident EngineerSenior Structural Engineer
Average salary$96,425$94,406
Salary rangeBetween $70,000 And $132,000Between $70,000 And $125,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaCalifornia
Best paying companyGoogleRivian
Best paying industryTelecommunicationTransportation

Differences between resident engineer and senior structural engineer education

There are a few differences between a resident engineer and a senior structural engineer in terms of educational background:

Resident EngineerSenior Structural Engineer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 73%Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Most common majorCivil EngineeringCivil Engineering
Most common collegeUniversity of Michigan - Ann ArborUniversity of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Resident engineer vs senior structural engineer demographics

Here are the differences between resident engineers' and senior structural engineers' demographics:

Resident EngineerSenior Structural Engineer
Average age4141
Gender ratioMale, 90.7% Female, 9.3%Male, 91.0% Female, 9.0%
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, 3.5% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 17.8% White, 63.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage5%5%

Differences between resident engineer and senior structural engineer 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.
  • Show more

Senior structural engineer example responsibilities.

  • Authore substantiation documents in compliance with FAA regulations and customer requirements to achieve type certifications and supplemental type certifications.
  • Perform project programming, project scheduling and detail cost estimates used to establish priorities in rehabilitation and construction projects.
  • Train to use SAP2000 to analyze highway RC bridges.
  • Analyze existing wing of a light aircraft for increase loading using FEMAP and NASTRAN.
  • Prepare new templates in MathCAD for engineers to use such as anchor bolts and weld design.
  • Prepare parking garage condition assessment reports and repair design, using carbon fiber material for some repairs per ACI 440.2R-02.
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Resident engineer vs senior structural engineer skills

Common resident engineer skills
  • Infrastructure, 14%
  • PE, 10%
  • Construction Projects, 8%
  • Contract Administration, 5%
  • Project Management, 5%
  • Construction Inspection, 4%
Common senior structural engineer skills
  • Structural Analysis, 9%
  • Rehabilitation, 6%
  • RISA, 5%
  • ACI, 5%
  • Project Management, 5%
  • CAD, 4%

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