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The differences between senior design projects and consulting 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 senior design project and a consulting engineer. Additionally, a consulting engineer has an average salary of $97,746, which is higher than the $92,208 average annual salary of a senior design project.
The top three skills for a senior design project include solidworks, medical devices and prototype. The most important skills for a consulting engineer are java, C #, and linux.
| Senior Design Project | Consulting Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $92,208 | $97,746 |
| Hourly rate | $44.33 | $46.99 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 70,865 | 125,600 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 86% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A senior design project worker is responsible for developing digital content designs and applications using various software tools, following clients' specifications and requests. Senior designers must be highly-organizational and communicative, especially on providing progress updates to the client and performing multiple design adjustments as needed. A senior designer should create and recommend designs based on the clients' budget goals without compromising the quality of the output. Senior design projects work closely with the design engineering team to maintain flawless layouts and achieve client satisfaction.
A consulting engineer is an individual who aids in the planning, designing, and construction of a project from the public and private clients. Consulting engineers are required to advise on the best component suitable according to the needs of their clients. They can manage the project by coordinating with designers, architects, and relevant persons who have commissioned the project. They may incorporate green sustainable energy solutions based on the demands of their clients. Consulting engineers must also conduct a feasibility study and prepare the estimated cost for the project.
Senior design projects and consulting engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Design Project | Consulting Engineer | |
| Average salary | $92,208 | $97,746 |
| Salary range | Between $70,000 And $120,000 | Between $72,000 And $131,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Washington |
| Best paying company | HDR | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a senior design project and a consulting engineer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Design Project | Consulting Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 86% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Georgia Institute of Technology | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between senior design projects' and consulting engineers' demographics:
| Senior Design Project | Consulting Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 80.3% Female, 19.7% | Male, 89.7% Female, 10.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 17.0% White, 67.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.1% Asian, 13.8% White, 69.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |