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The differences between sustaining engineers and planning engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a sustaining engineer and a planning engineer. Additionally, a sustaining engineer has an average salary of $88,351, which is higher than the $82,521 average annual salary of a planning engineer.
The top three skills for a sustaining engineer include troubleshoot, lean six sigma and lean manufacturing. The most important skills for a planning engineer are project management, infrastructure, and transmission planning.
| Sustaining Engineer | Planning Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $88,351 | $82,521 |
| Hourly rate | $42.48 | $39.67 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 57,402 | 56,792 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A sustaining engineer is responsible for monitoring industrial operations, including the efficiency of processes and the performance of tools and equipment, ensuring high-quality deliverables for business objectives. Sustaining engineers evaluate the safety and security of the operations, strategizing techniques to manage potential hazards that may cause delays in the production. They also work with the management to identify opportunities to maximize productivity and maintain cost-reduction procedures, especially on materials and equipment. A sustaining engineer handles operational issues, as well as assessing incident reports for immediate resolution.
A planning engineer is in charge of developing plans and systems to organize and schedule project procedures, ensuring efficiency and timeliness. Their responsibilities revolve around learning and understanding the extent of all operations, setting schedules and objectives, liaising with external parties such as vendors or distributors, and maintaining an active communication line with other departments. Furthermore, a planning engineer must monitor the progress of the workflow and the performance of the workforce, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
Sustaining engineers and planning engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Sustaining Engineer | Planning Engineer | |
| Average salary | $88,351 | $82,521 |
| Salary range | Between $68,000 And $114,000 | Between $61,000 And $110,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Energy |
There are a few differences between a sustaining engineer and a planning engineer in terms of educational background:
| Sustaining Engineer | Planning Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between sustaining engineers' and planning engineers' demographics:
| Sustaining Engineer | Planning Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 87.5% Female, 12.5% | Male, 83.2% Female, 16.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 15.1% White, 65.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 15.6% White, 65.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 4% |