Post job

Structural designer vs office engineer

The differences between structural designers and office 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 structural designer and an office engineer. Additionally, an office engineer has an average salary of $89,581, which is higher than the $63,273 average annual salary of a structural designer.

The top three skills for a structural designer include revit, structural design and BIM. The most important skills for an office engineer are construction management, construction sites, and shop drawings.

Structural designer vs office engineer overview

Structural DesignerOffice Engineer
Yearly salary$63,273$89,581
Hourly rate$30.42$43.07
Growth rate7%7%
Number of jobs51,43259,644
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 46%Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Average age4141
Years of experience66

What does a structural designer do?

A Structural Designer designs, develops, and supervises the construction of new buildings and bridges, or extensions to existing properties or other structures. They review and update construction drawings as well as communicate project problems and flaws to managers.

What does an office engineer do?

The duties of an office engineer depend on one's place or industry of employment. Their responsibilities typically revolve around providing technical and clerical support to the workforce, coordinating different parties involved in a project or program, and implementing the company's policies and regulations. Moreover, as an office engineer, it is essential to produce progress reports and presentations, maintain accurate data and records of all transactions, manage schedules, perform maintenance checks, and address issues and concerns, providing corrective measures promptly and efficiently.

Structural designer vs office engineer salary

Structural designers and office engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Structural DesignerOffice Engineer
Average salary$63,273$89,581
Salary rangeBetween $47,000 And $84,000Between $65,000 And $123,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaCalifornia
Best paying companyTeslaMicrosoft
Best paying industryConstructionRetail

Differences between structural designer and office engineer education

There are a few differences between a structural designer and an office engineer in terms of educational background:

Structural DesignerOffice Engineer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 46%Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Most common majorDrafting And DesignCivil Engineering
Most common collegeCarnegie Mellon UniversityNew York University

Structural designer vs office engineer demographics

Here are the differences between structural designers' and office engineers' demographics:

Structural DesignerOffice Engineer
Average age4141
Gender ratioMale, 87.4% Female, 12.6%Male, 74.3% Female, 25.7%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 4.0% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 11.7% Asian, 12.8% White, 66.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%Black or African American, 4.0% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 11.8% Asian, 11.2% White, 67.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage5%5%

Differences between structural designer and office engineer duties and responsibilities

Structural designer example responsibilities.

  • Field route pipe systems; manage line and pipe support list; ISO s for fabrication / installation.
  • Assure compliance with refinery and OSHA safety requirements in selecting, locating and hookup of equipment.
  • Develop record system, QA & QC policies and procedures, peer review system to reduce installation errors.
  • Provide general arrangement, detail, and design drawings of ladders, platforms, and frame structure for the following projects.
  • Prepare AutoCAD engineering drawings of structural components for natural gas turbine compressor stations.
  • Programme PLC, VFD and SCADA equipment.
  • Show more

Office engineer example responsibilities.

  • Manage and/or participate in a variety of water and wastewater assist company principles as engineering consultants for numerous municipal clients.
  • Coordinate and document the testing (soil, concrete, asphalt, and steel) and commissioning of building systems.
  • Schedule and complete registration information for OSHA compliance.
  • Conduct grade elevation analysis and complete material consumption calculations for asphalt plant operations.
  • Instrument engineering, PLC application programming, electrical engineering, modification of medium size boilers and incinerator controls.
  • Enhance SCR system performance for internal combustion engine applications and provide compliance assurance through system troubleshooting and modifying existing PLC programming.
  • Show more

Structural designer vs office engineer skills

Common structural designer skills
  • Revit, 14%
  • Structural Design, 10%
  • BIM, 5%
  • Navisworks, 5%
  • Ladders, 4%
  • Engineering Design, 4%
Common office engineer skills
  • Construction Management, 11%
  • Construction Sites, 10%
  • Shop Drawings, 9%
  • Project Management, 7%
  • Construction Projects, 5%
  • RFI, 5%

Browse architecture and engineering jobs