Engineering Salaries by Discipline

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), employment in engineering occupations is projected to grow 3% from 2019 to 2029, about as fast as the average for all occupations. About 74,800 new jobs are projected to be added. Engineering services will be in demand in various areas such as the rebuilding of infrastructure, renewable energy, oil and gas extraction, and robotics.

The median annual wage for engineering occupations was $81,440 in May 2019. The median annual wages for all occupations in this group was higher than the median annual wage for all occupations in the economy, which was $39,810.

Post COVID-19 Prospects

The 2019 numbers from the BLS are the most recent. Yet COVID-19 showed us since those numbers were released. The engineering profession won’t be exempt from COVID-19 job fallout, but the effects will be temporary.

A statement on the website of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers noted that “More engineers will be needed before the world returns to a semblance of normalcy.”

Andy Moss, president of M Force Staffing, a technical recruiting firm specializing in engineering and manufacturing job placement said,  “There was already a lack of technical talent before we went into this. This is a horrible situation, but when we come back from it, we’re going to ramp right back up into the problems we had before. We’re not producing enough technical talent to fill the jobs we have.”

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Rob Spiegel has covered manufacturing for 19 years, 17 of them for Design News. Other topics he has covered include automation, supply chain technology, alternative energy, and cybersecurity. For 10 years, he was the owner and publisher of the food magazine Chile Pepper.