Residential building inspector vs chief inspector

The differences between residential building inspectors and chief inspectors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a residential building inspector and a chief inspector. Additionally, a chief inspector has an average salary of $59,832, which is higher than the $48,597 average annual salary of a residential building inspector.

The top three skills for a residential building inspector include sketch, windows and plumbing. The most important skills for a chief inspector are repair station, pipeline construction, and API.

Residential building inspector vs chief inspector overview

	Residential Building Inspector	Chief Inspector
Yearly salary	$48,597	$59,832
Hourly rate	$23.36	$28.77
Growth rate	-4%	-4%
Number of jobs	28,745	29,278
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	Bachelor's Degree, 39%
Average age	50	50
Years of experience	6	6

Residential building inspector vs chief inspector salary

Residential building inspectors and chief inspectors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Residential Building Inspector	Chief Inspector
Average salary	$48,597	$59,832
Salary range	Between $28,000 And $82,000	Between $39,000 And $91,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between residential building inspector and chief inspector education

There are a few differences between a residential building inspector and a chief inspector in terms of educational background:

	Residential Building Inspector	Chief Inspector
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	Bachelor's Degree, 39%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	San Diego State University	San Diego State University

Residential building inspector vs chief inspector demographics

Here are the differences between residential building inspectors' and chief inspectors' demographics:

	Residential Building Inspector	Chief Inspector
Average age	50	50
Gender ratio	Male, 87.6% Female, 12.4%	Male, 92.7% Female, 7.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.1% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.8% Asian, 3.4% White, 69.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	Black or African American, 8.1% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.8% Asian, 3.4% White, 69.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between residential building inspector and chief inspector duties and responsibilities

Residential building inspector example responsibilities.

Lead site excavations, form structuring, and supervise concrete pours.
Perform residential building, plumbing, mechanical and electrical inspections.
Pass all require residential building, electrical, plumbing and mechanical inspector exams.
Conduct inspections of newly build or previously own homes, condominiums, town homes, manufacture homes.

Chief inspector example responsibilities.

Manage NDT crew and survey crew.
Perform oversight of customer aircraft to ensure work is accomplished in accordance with company and customer procedures.
Inspect plumbing and gas work install in town
Develop CMM programs to validate parts that cannot be measure using standard layout inspection techniques.
Ensure all appropriate PPE are worn and jobs are done safely and in a timely manner.
Qualify all welders, direct other inspectors, coordinate all NDE, and visually inspect all welds.

Residential building inspector vs chief inspector skills

Common residential building inspector skills

Sketch, 39%
Windows, 10%
Plumbing, 10%
Residential Buildings, 9%
Inspection Process, 8%
HVAC, 6%

Common chief inspector skills

Repair Station, 10%
Pipeline Construction, 10%
API, 5%
Inspection Procedures, 5%
Test Equipment, 5%
Management System, 5%

Residential Building Inspector vs. similar jobs

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Residential Building Inspector
Residential Building Inspector vs Chief Inspector

Updated January 8, 2025

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