Numbers Reflect Engineering Industry Health Amid Pandemic

Pandemic or no pandemic, the engineering profession is still healthy. As for growth in the US during the coming 10 years, the Bureau for Labor Statistics pegs employment in engineering occupations to grow 3% during the coming decade. Not spectacular; it’s about as fast as the average for all occupations. A net 74,800 engineer jobs are projected to be added during the 2020s.

Most of the projected job growth will come from demand in various areas such as the rebuilding of infrastructure, renewable energy, oil and gas extraction, and robotics. The median annual wage for engineering jobs is $81,440 as of May 2019. The median annual wage for engineers is higher than the median annual wage for all occupations in the economy, which is $39,810.

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