High-Paying Engineering Majors Where People Typically Earn Six Figures

Engineering-related majors accounted for nine of the 14 highest median mid-career salaries.

Engineering majors made up the five highest-paying majors, each boasting a median mid-career salary of at least $111,000 per year: chemical engineering, computer engineering, aerospace engineering, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering.

Looking at the 10 engineering majors that were part of the New York Fed’s analysis, median mid-career salaries ranged from $95,000 for engineering technology majors to $133,000 for chemical engineering majors. Additionally, early-career chemical engineering graduates had a median salary of $79,000, which was higher than the overall median early-career salary of $50,000. Engineering and technology majors had the lowest median starting salary among the 10 different types of engineering majors, at $60,000.

High salaries for engineering graduates are not a new phenomenon. A Georgetown University analysis of American Community Survey data between 2009 and 2013 found that nine of the 10 majors with the highest median annual salaries were related to engineering.

But in recent years, high demand for engineering positions has prompted some employers to raise salaries in order to attract candidates. The United States will need about 400,000 new engineers per year by 2030, according to a December analysis by the Boston Consulting Group, in partnership with SAE International. The authors said that nearly a third of these positions are at risk of going unfilled unless labor supply increases.

Companies in the emerging AI, semiconductor and renewable energy sectors are among the companies in need of engineering talent. Some of these companies have partnered with community colleges and universities across the country in an effort to boost labor supply.

Although attending college can be expensive without financial aid or other means, the New York Fed’s analysis suggests that certain majors, particularly those in the engineering field, may be able to provide a strong return on investment to certain students.