Survey engineer vs civil designer

The differences between survey engineers and civil designers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a survey engineer and a civil designer. Additionally, a civil designer has an average salary of $58,421, which is higher than the $47,960 average annual salary of a survey engineer.

The top three skills for a survey engineer include GPS, vertical control and autocad. The most important skills for a civil designer are civil 3d, autocad, and civil engineering.

Survey engineer vs civil designer overview

	Survey Engineer	Civil Designer
Yearly salary	$47,960	$58,421
Hourly rate	$23.06	$28.09
Growth rate	7%	7%
Number of jobs	19,056	57,036
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Average age	41	41
Years of experience	6	6

Survey engineer vs civil designer salary

Survey engineers and civil designers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Survey Engineer	Civil Designer
Average salary	$47,960	$58,421
Salary range	Between $32,000 And $71,000	Between $41,000 And $81,000
Highest paying City	Sunrise, FL	Walnut Creek, CA
Highest paying state	Florida	California
Best paying company	Aviat Networks	Parsons
Best paying industry	Energy	Construction

Differences between survey engineer and civil designer education

There are a few differences between a survey engineer and a civil designer in terms of educational background:

	Survey Engineer	Civil Designer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Most common major	Civil Engineering	Drafting And Design
Most common college	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor	Carnegie Mellon University

Survey engineer vs civil designer demographics

Here are the differences between survey engineers' and civil designers' demographics:

	Survey Engineer	Civil Designer
Average age	41	41
Gender ratio	Male, 92.1% Female, 7.9%	Male, 82.9% Female, 17.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 4.1% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 11.9% Asian, 12.0% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	Black or African American, 4.1% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.1% Asian, 11.2% White, 67.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between survey engineer and civil designer duties and responsibilities

Survey engineer example responsibilities.

Create maps and graphs, using GIS software and relate equipment.
Select the control point (BM) by GPS or global positioning system.
Utilize hands on equipment, total stations, GPS units, data collectors, and optical levels.
Perform calculations necessary to prepare individual residential lot permit and as-built plans necessary for township approval.
Adjust and operate surveying instruments such as prisms, theodolites and electronic distance-measuring equipment.
Job types include residential, commercial/industrial staking, water management elevations and wetland location.

Civil designer example responsibilities.

Manage production of full sets of contract documents (grading, drainage, water, sewer, paving and SWPPP).
Create and revise detail drawings (MEP).
Deliver as-built MEP schematics and structural details.
Perform the analysis of guy communication towers using CSA-S37/01 and AISC manual guidelines.
Use Trimble GPS station to survey projects, upload data into trimble geomatics office3.
Direct or participate in surveying to lay out installations and establishreference points, grades and elevations to guide construction.

Survey engineer vs civil designer skills

Common survey engineer skills

GPS, 31%
Vertical Control, 11%
Autocad, 6%
CAD, 6%
RF, 6%
Survey Data, 6%

Common civil designer skills

Civil 3D, 18%
Autocad, 16%
Civil Engineering, 8%
Civil Design, 4%
Site Design, 4%
GIS, 3%