Compare A Civil Engineering Technician ↔ B Mechanical Engineer
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1 move · +$53,020 a year, Texas medians of each whole occupation, all experience levels
Gates on this route
- Move 1, to Mechanical Engineer: bachelor's degree (O*NET: most in Mechanical Engineer hold one), license depends on the work (Texas PE license (TBPELS) is required for the practice of engineering as defined in Occ. Code 1001.003; whether this job needs it depends on the work).
Move 1 Transfer move to the side
Civil Engineering Technician to Mechanical Engineer +$53,020 Texas medians of each whole occupation, all experience levels
- O*NET lists Mechanical Engineers as a related occupation (Supplemental); skills and knowledge profile similarity r = 0.79 (O*NET related occupation beyond the 6 drawn laterals).
- Gates: bachelor's degree (O*NET: most in Mechanical Engineer hold one), license depends on the work (Texas PE license (TBPELS) is required for the practice of engineering as defined in Occ. Code 1001.003; whether this job needs it depends on the work).
Side by side
All Mechanical Engineers: Texas median $112,410, $53,020 more a year than all Civil Engineering Technologists and Technicians ($59,390), every experience level.
Mechanical Engineer: 45% work more than 40 hours a week, about 3 times the share for Civil Engineering Technician (15%).
This level's pay
A No headline record for this level
B $99,206 a year H-1B filings, n = 157, TX+AZ, 2026
No published schedule lists both jobs, so no level-specific difference is shown.
Occupation-wide pay all experience levels, not this level's pay; Texas median, base pay, $0 to $300k
Gates on the route: bachelor's degree (O*NET: most in Mechanical Engineer hold one), license depends on the work (Texas PE license (TBPELS) is required for the practice of engineering as defined in Occ. Code 1001.003; whether this job needs it depends on the work).
Outlook 2024 to 2034 whole occupation
A +10.0% Texas, 560 openings a year
B +18.6% Texas, 1,350 openings a year
Over 40 h a week
Physical load our index from O*NET, 1 to 5; A B; largest differences first
2.1 / 5-0.31.8 / 5
- Outdoors, all weather-1.56Outdoors, all weather: A 3.52, B 1.96
- Hazardous equipment-0.91Hazardous equipment: A 2.92, B 2.01
- Very hot or cold-0.81Very hot or cold: A 2.64, B 1.83
- Bending or twisting-0.34Bending or twisting: A 2.05, B 1.71
- Keeping balance-0.21Keeping balance: A 1.65, B 1.44
Degree
A Most people in this job do not hold a bachelor's degree (O*NET: 18% do).
B Most people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher (O*NET: 53%).
License
A No license for this job title at the 8 Texas and federal licensing agencies read on 2026-10-03 (TDLR, TSBPE, TCEQ, TCFP, TEA, TBPELS, NRC and EPA).
B Texas PE license (TBPELS) is required for the practice of engineering as defined in Occ. Code 1001.003; whether this job needs it depends on the work.
Experience
A Most common related work experience: over 8 years, up to and including 10 years (O*NET: 31%).
B Most common related work experience: over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (O*NET: 24%).
Skills O*NET importance, 1 to 5
You likely have: 6
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Reading Comprehension
- Mathematics
- Speaking
- Writing
To build: 6
- Technology Design +1.37
- Quality Control Analysis +1.00
- Science +1.00
- Operations Analysis +0.88
- Operations Monitoring +0.74
- Complex Problem Solving +0.63
Make this your goal
Save Civil Engineering Technician to Mechanical Engineer as your goal. Each step then shows the hours you have logged toward it, your exam practice and your license, with the one thing to do next and the 6 skills to build as a checklist. Free with an account.
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