Survey engineer vs civil engineer

The differences between survey engineers and civil 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 survey engineer and a civil engineer. Additionally, a civil engineer has an average salary of $70,950, 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 engineer are civil 3d, engineering design, and cost estimates.

Survey engineer vs civil engineer overview

	Survey Engineer	Civil Engineer
Yearly salary	$47,960	$70,950
Hourly rate	$23.06	$34.11
Growth rate	7%	7%
Number of jobs	19,056	26,803
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Average age	41	41
Years of experience	6	6

Survey engineer vs civil engineer salary

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

	Survey Engineer	Civil Engineer
Average salary	$47,960	$70,950
Salary range	Between $32,000 And $71,000	Between $51,000 And $97,000
Highest paying City	Sunrise, FL	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Florida	California
Best paying company	Aviat Networks	The Citadel
Best paying industry	Energy	Construction

Differences between survey engineer and civil engineer education

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

	Survey Engineer	Civil Engineer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Most common major	Civil Engineering	Civil Engineering
Most common college	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Survey engineer vs civil engineer demographics

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

	Survey Engineer	Civil Engineer
Average age	41	41
Gender ratio	Male, 92.1% Female, 7.9%	Male, 83.6% Female, 16.4%
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, 3.8% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 11.2% Asian, 15.6% White, 64.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between survey engineer and civil engineer 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 engineer example responsibilities.

Manage production of full sets of contract documents (grading, drainage, water, sewer, paving and SWPPP).
Manage project programming requirements and manage HVAC design activities.
Project manage the overall reorganizing and restructuring of the telecommunication department.
Design engineer and project manager for HVAC, plumbing, and fire protection systems.
Support and troubleshoot Hewlett Packard printers, servers, switches, thin clients, and Cisco phone systems.
Handle and continuously update project documentation as as-built records and construction record reports.

Survey engineer vs civil engineer skills

Common survey engineer skills

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

Common civil engineer skills

Civil 3D, 11%
Engineering Design, 7%
Cost Estimates, 7%
Project Management, 6%
Construction Projects, 4%
Engineering Projects, 4%