TOP 4 HIGHEST PAYING ENGINEERING CAREERS

Engineering is a diverse field. The word originates from Latin ingenium, meaning “cleverness” and ingeniare, meaning “to contrive, devise.” This discipline is the application of scientific, economic, social, and practical knowledge in order to invent, design, build, maintain, and improve structures, machine, devices, systems, materials, and processes.

Best known for his genius as an artist, Leonardo Da Vinci was also a gifted inventor, architect and engineer. He claimed to be able to create all sorts of machines both for the protection of a city and for siege. When he fled to Venice in 1499 he found employment as an engineer and devised a system of movable barricades to protect the city from attack. He also had a scheme for diverting the flow of the Arno River, a project on which Niccolo Machiavelli also worked. Leonardo’s journals include a vast number of inventions. They include musical instruments, a mechanical knight, hydraulic pumps,  hydraulic pumps, reversible crank mechanisms, finned mortar shells, a helicopter, a submarine, and a steam engine.

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1. Petroleum Engineering

This is a field of engineering concerned with the activities related to the production of hydrocarbons, which can be either crude oil or natural gas. Exploration and Production are deemed to fall within the upstream sector of the oil and gas industry. Exploration, by earth scientists, and petroleum engineering are the oil and gas industry’s two main subsurface disciplines, which focus on maximizing economic recovery of hydrocarbons from subsurface reservoirs.

Petroleum engineers have a future full of challenges and opportunities. They must develop and apply new technology to recover hydrocarbons from oil shale, tar sands, and offshore oil and gas fields. They must also devise new techniques to recover oil left in the ground after application of conventional producing techniques. Since many petroleum companies conduct worldwide operations, petroleum engineers have the opportunity for assignments all over the world.

National Average: $106,000

Mid-career: $160,000

National Salary Range: $61,655- $165,052

2. Nuclear Engineeringatomic-power

Nuclear engineers are in charge of successfully completing nuclear engineering tasks for their organization. They develop and execute complex model interactions, use innovative computational methods to predict effects, and assess risks, as well as static and dynamic events. They must have advanced knowledge of nuclear engineering principles and their proper use while following strict safety laws when dealing with dangerous substances and materials.

Nuclear engineers apply nuclear reactor technologies that make processes faster, manage technical performance and constraints, monitor core application, test new nuclear methodologies, and use their expertise for process optimizations, flow, and subsequent evaluation.  Generally, they work in an office or reactor facility environment, using complex systems that make projections and calculations relevant to their company’s needs.

National Average: $82,000

Mid-career: $117,000

Salary Range: $58,277- $128,031

Also Read: How much money do engineers make

3. Chemical Engineeringchemistry

Chemical engineers find solutions to problems such as pollution, world hunger, and energy demands. They also conduct research to develop new and improved chemical manufacturing processes that are more efficient and less harmful to the environment. They typically work indoors in laboratories, utilizing the newest and most advanced technology. Chemical engineers will typically find themselves working in teams with other engineers.

Chemical engineers perform density, gravity, and pressure tests at various stages of production in order to ensure accurate results. They are constantly faced with challenges that require innovative thinking. They are efficient with time and money, consistently evaluating the time and cost to complete projects. Since they work with dangerous chemicals, they are concerned with developing safety procedures for themselves and others working close to possible chemical reactions.

National Average: $73,000

Mid-career: $115,000

National Salary Range: $50,693- $119,232

4. Aerospace Engineeringspace-shuttle

An Aerospace Engineer designs aircraft, missiles, space crafts, and satellites. They test prototypes to make sure that the models function according to how they are designed. They are spacecraft/vehicle engineers that deal with related infrastructure of these things. There are many specialties within this job. Aerospace Engineers are usually employed by industries whose workers build aircraft, and the engineers are primarily involved in the analysis and design, manufacturing, industries that perform research and development of such craft, and perhaps even the federal government.

They can often work on projects that are related to national defense or with the military and so they often require security clearances. As they gain more experience, they may train for a specialty. This job requires high intelligence, problem solving, self-motivation, an ability to work independently and also as a team, to articulate complex ideas to a team, and to stay with projects through many variations and to sometimes lengthy fruition.

National Average: $77,000

Mid-career: $109,000

Salary Range: $55,568- $117,813

WHAT ARE THE HIGHEST PAYING JOBS WITH A DEGREE IN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING?

A degree in mechanical engineering offers a breadth of career opportunities. As a mechanical engineer, you can work in specialties such as robotics, automotive, nanotechnology and any field that involves working with technology that includes machines or moving parts. 

Your mechanical engineering specialty, along with factors such as industry and level of experience and education, influence how much money you will earn in your career. If you want to attain one of the highest paying mechanical engineering jobs, you need to take the right courses and gain the right experience to be a good fit for these lucrative positions.

Also Read: How much money do engineers make

Mechanical Engineering Salaries by Industry

In addition to being one of the broadest and oldest fields of engineering, mechanical engineering is also one of the largest engineering occupations. More than 288,800 people across the United States are employed as mechanical engineers, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported. For all mechanical engineers in all industries and at all levels of experience, the median salary is $85,880 per year, according to the BLS. That wage is considerably more than twice the median wage for all occupations, but somewhat lower than the $92,220 median salary for all engineers.

Even if you have the exact same job title, your earning potential can vary by tens of thousands of dollars depending on the industry in which you work. Among the industries employing the most mechanical engineers, scientific research and development services is the most profitable, with a near-six-figure annual salary of $98,530, the BLS reported. A median wage of $91,440 awaits mechanical engineering students who enter the industry of computer and electronic product manufacturing. Mechanical engineers in architectural and engineering services earn a median salary of $89,180. 

Those working in the field of transportation equipment manufacturing earn a wage just above the median for all mechanical engineers, $86,670. However, the 13 percent of mechanical engineers working in machinery manufacturing – more than 37,500 workers – earn a salary well below that median wage, $77,400.

Often, it’s the rarest mechanical engineering jobs that offer the best salary potential. There are mechanical engineering roles that have six-figure average wages but make up just a tiny fraction of employment in this occupation. For example, software publishers employ just 120 mechanical engineers, which means just 0.03 percent of workers in the industry are part of this occupation, but they pay a mean annual wage of $127,540, the BLS reported. 

The $122,140 mean salary for mechanical engineers working in oil and gas extraction takes into account the wages of just 430 workers. Mechanical engineers make up just 0.13 percent of employees who work in electronic and precision equipment repair and maintenance, but these 130 people earn a mean wage of $113,390. Just under one-half of one percent of employees working in waste treatment and disposal accounts are mechanical engineers, who earn a mean salary of $112,570. A mean wage of $110,170 is associated with the pipeline transportation of crude oil industry, which employs just 240 mechanical engineers.

One of the best-paying roles in all engineering disciplines is engineering manager. Managers in mechanical engineering may need a graduate degree and a minimum of five years of work experience.

Also Read: Types of engineer majors

Mechanical Engineering Salaries by Specialty

A number of specialties fit into this broad discipline of engineering, and some specialties tend to pay better than others. Heating and cooling system engineers, or HVAC engineers, typically have some of the lowest wages, with a median salary of only $63,494, PayScale reported. Automotive engineers, who develop engineering systems for automobiles, earn nearly $15,000 more per year that HVAC engineers, with a median wage of $78,053. Robotics and automation engineer is an occupation Business Insider listed as one of the engineering jobs that pay $110,000 or more. PayScale reports that robotic engineers earn a median wage of $80,720 but can earn as much as $121,842 per year. Nanotechnology engineers are often included under the umbrella of scientific research and development, with its $98,530 median salary.

Within a mechanical engineer’s specialty, your level of experience and responsibility can affect your earnings. A career in mechanical engineering involves bringing concepts to marketing – and may include everything from handling mechanical and thermal design to the actual manufacturing process. As a result of the breadth of mechanical engineers’ responsibilities, these engineers frequently work their way up to high-level management positions.