Survey engineer vs surveyor

The differences between survey engineers and surveyors 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 surveyor. Additionally, a survey engineer has an average salary of $47,960, which is higher than the $46,875 average annual salary of a surveyor.

The top three skills for a survey engineer include GPS, vertical control and autocad. The most important skills for a surveyor are GPS, survey data, and data collection.

Survey engineer vs surveyor overview

	Survey Engineer	Surveyor
Yearly salary	$47,960	$46,875
Hourly rate	$23.06	$22.54
Growth rate	7%	1%
Number of jobs	19,056	4,087
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Average age	41	44
Years of experience	6	6

Survey engineer vs surveyor salary

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

	Survey Engineer	Surveyor
Average salary	$47,960	$46,875
Salary range	Between $32,000 And $71,000	Between $32,000 And $67,000
Highest paying City	Sunrise, FL	San Diego, CA
Highest paying state	Florida	California
Best paying company	Aviat Networks	The Citadel
Best paying industry	Energy	-

Differences between survey engineer and surveyor education

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

	Survey Engineer	Surveyor
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Most common major	Civil Engineering	Business
Most common college	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor	Pennsylvania State University

Survey engineer vs surveyor demographics

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

	Survey Engineer	Surveyor
Average age	41	44
Gender ratio	Male, 92.1% Female, 7.9%	Male, 72.4% Female, 27.6%
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, 3.3% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 4.9% White, 76.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	5%	7%

Differences between survey engineer and surveyor 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.

Surveyor example responsibilities.

Utilize GPS technology to manage a two man robotic crew assign to residential/ commercial development projects.
Assist the PLS with ALTAs, B2, legals, exhibits, topo s and plats drawing and field work.
Set up and run instruments.
Work with Trimble GNSS surveying systems.
Survey of proposal access roads by RTK method.
Create alignment sheets in Carlson from survey base files.

Survey engineer vs surveyor skills

Common survey engineer skills

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

Common surveyor skills

GPS, 16%
Survey Data, 9%
Data Collection, 6%
Survey Equipment, 6%
Civil 3D, 6%
Customer Service, 5%