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The differences between structures engineers and resident 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 structures engineer and a resident engineer. Additionally, a resident engineer has an average salary of $96,425, which is higher than the $73,391 average annual salary of a structures engineer.
The top three skills for a structures engineer include structural analysis, revit and RISA. The most important skills for a resident engineer are infrastructure, PE, and construction projects.
| Structures Engineer | Resident Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $73,391 | $96,425 |
| Hourly rate | $35.28 | $46.36 |
| Growth rate | 7% | 7% |
| Number of jobs | 20,778 | 31,388 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A structures engineer works in designing, planning, and overseeing the development of the latest buildings and bridges or modifications and extensions to an existing property or other structures. They are mainly concerned with the safety and capability of the structure to withstand the elements to which they will be exposed--also improving the existing building structural integrity. Part of the task is inspecting properties regarding the conditions/foundation and checking work undertaken by contractors. The job is very similarly related to a civil engineer.
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.
Structures engineers and resident engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Structures Engineer | Resident Engineer | |
| Average salary | $73,391 | $96,425 |
| Salary range | Between $54,000 And $98,000 | Between $70,000 And $132,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Apple | |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Telecommunication |
There are a few differences between a structures engineer and a resident engineer in terms of educational background:
| Structures Engineer | Resident Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Most common major | Civil Engineering | Civil Engineering |
| Most common college | Carnegie Mellon University | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor |
Here are the differences between structures engineers' and resident engineers' demographics:
| Structures Engineer | Resident Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 84.9% Female, 15.1% | Male, 90.7% Female, 9.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.5% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 10.3% Asian, 17.3% White, 64.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | 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% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |