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Telecom engineer vs project controls engineer

The differences between telecom engineers and project controls 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 telecom engineer and a project controls engineer. Additionally, a project controls engineer has an average salary of $86,685, which is higher than the $81,384 average annual salary of a telecom engineer.

The top three skills for a telecom engineer include voip, telephony and telecommunication. The most important skills for a project controls engineer are project controls, project management, and construction management.

Telecom engineer vs project controls engineer overview

Telecom EngineerProject Controls Engineer
Yearly salary$81,384$86,685
Hourly rate$39.13$41.68
Growth rate3%3%
Number of jobs33,53038,974
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Average age4545
Years of experience66

What does a telecom engineer do?

Telecom engineers are engineering experts who design and install telecommunication equipment to ensure the transmission of high-quality data over wired or wireless communication. Due to their in-depth understanding of emerging technologies, these engineers are required to create solution designs such as drawings and design documents as well as offer guidance to reduce complexity and costs. They must identify and resolve any issues related to fiber optics and copper cables while setting up system monitoring to reduce equipment failure and incident response time. Telecom engineers are also required to operate and improve the telephony systems.

What does a project controls engineer do?

A Project Controls Engineer creates project cost reports and progress charts. These professionals interpret the company contract and deal with the existing cost control database and financial risk. Project Controls Engineers reconcile and organize the project cost information with the clients' status reports. Also, they evaluate cash flow reports and project cost reports prepared by CMA.

Telecom engineer vs project controls engineer salary

Telecom engineers and project controls engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Telecom EngineerProject Controls Engineer
Average salary$81,384$86,685
Salary rangeBetween $63,000 And $104,000Between $63,000 And $119,000
Highest paying CityHayward, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateRhode IslandCalifornia
Best paying companyPayPalBP America Inc
Best paying industryTelecommunicationEnergy

Differences between telecom engineer and project controls engineer education

There are a few differences between a telecom engineer and a project controls engineer in terms of educational background:

Telecom EngineerProject Controls Engineer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Most common majorElectrical EngineeringBusiness
Most common collegeNortheastern UniversityStanford University

Telecom engineer vs project controls engineer demographics

Here are the differences between telecom engineers' and project controls engineers' demographics:

Telecom EngineerProject Controls Engineer
Average age4545
Gender ratioMale, 86.2% Female, 13.8%Male, 80.3% Female, 19.7%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 4.8% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 11.3% Asian, 14.6% White, 64.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%Black or African American, 4.9% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 11.3% Asian, 14.4% White, 64.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage6%6%

Differences between telecom engineer and project controls engineer duties and responsibilities

Telecom engineer example responsibilities.

  • Manage global corporate VPN (voice private network).
  • Design and manage numerous PBX installations throughout Europe and Asia.
  • Manage DS3 and switch activity in the central and southern regions.
  • Manage port requests for ethernet, async and sync connectivity for remote network management.
  • Manage, configure and maintain Qfiniti Etalk monitor/recorder, utilizing AES with CTI links.
  • Manage and monitor all voice projects throughout the AOR as the DISA voice SME.
  • Show more

Project controls engineer example responsibilities.

  • Manage accruals, cash flows, and invoices for $25MM total install cost EPC project.
  • Manage multiple projects involving both internal and vendor resources affecting national production infrastructure.
  • Create and maintain CPM schedules for engineering, procurement, installation and commissioning phases on various projects.
  • Develop and improve PMO process methodologies.
  • Optimize plant maintenance and manpower scheduling using spreadsheet forecasting models.
  • Prepare summary level CPM schedules and present progress to owner company executive management on a monthly basis.
  • Show more

Telecom engineer vs project controls engineer skills

Common telecom engineer skills
  • VoIP, 9%
  • Telephony, 8%
  • Telecommunication, 6%
  • Unified Communications, 5%
  • LAN, 4%
  • Switches, 4%
Common project controls engineer skills
  • Project Controls, 12%
  • Project Management, 9%
  • Construction Management, 7%
  • Primavera P6, 5%
  • Control Systems, 3%
  • Project Cost, 3%

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