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The differences between surveyors 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 surveyor and a civil engineer. Additionally, a civil engineer has an average salary of $70,950, which is higher than the $46,875 average annual salary of a surveyor.
The top three skills for a surveyor include GPS, survey data and data collection. The most important skills for a civil engineer are civil 3d, engineering design, and cost estimates.
| Surveyor | Civil Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $46,875 | $70,950 |
| Hourly rate | $22.54 | $34.11 |
| Growth rate | 1% | 7% |
| Number of jobs | 4,087 | 26,803 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 77% |
| Average age | 44 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A surveyor is responsible for measuring the physical boundaries of a property based on the design documents. Surveyors' duties include determining reference points using special measuring equipment, analyzing land records, evaluating the stability of the property location, verifying data to property agencies and other organizations, responding to the client's inquiries, processing legal property documents, and finalizing boundary lines and maps. A surveyor must have a broad knowledge of the land and property processes, as well as excellent research and analytical skills.
A civil engineer designs and supervises the construction of large-scale public works projects such as buildings, roads, tunnels, highways, airports, bridges, dams, and other substantial infrastructure. Most civil engineers work in the private industry, but some work for a government organization. Their output is almost everywhere. Many of them specialize in a specific project or practice a target profession such as in transportation, structural engineering, or geotechnical engineering. They oftentimes work at project sites, as they monitor the ongoing construction.
Surveyors and civil engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Surveyor | Civil Engineer | |
| Average salary | $46,875 | $70,950 |
| Salary range | Between $32,000 And $67,000 | Between $51,000 And $97,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Diego, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | The Citadel | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | - | Construction |
There are a few differences between a surveyor and a civil engineer in terms of educational background:
| Surveyor | Civil Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 77% |
| Most common major | Business | Civil Engineering |
| Most common college | Pennsylvania State University | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor |
Here are the differences between surveyors' and civil engineers' demographics:
| Surveyor | Civil Engineer | |
| Average age | 44 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 72.4% Female, 27.6% | Male, 83.6% Female, 16.4% |
| Race ratio | 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% | 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 | 7% | 5% |