Highest Paying Engineering Jobs Of 2023

It is pretty well known among Americans that engineers tend to make a good amount of money, especially compared to occupations in other fields. Though you can become an engineer after earning just a bachelor’s degree in an engineering field, many continue their education to the master’s or even doctoral level. However, what’s less well known is which types of engineers earn the most money. In order to identify the highest paying engineering jobs, we analyzed data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) Occupational Employment Statistics (OES), and zeroed in on occupations that fall into their category Architecture and Engineering Occupations, while making sure to exclude architectural jobs.

Read on to find out the highest paying engineering jobs in 2023.

10 Highest Paying Engineering Jobs in 2023

Looking at the highest paying engineering jobs of 2023, 12 jobs have average annual salaries in excess of $100,000. For comparison, the average annual wage for All Occupations in the U.S. is $58,260 per year. The other six highest paying engineering jobs have average annual salaries of over $87,000. What’s interesting, though, is that some engineering jobs have experienced an outright decline in average annual pay over the last five years. For instance, the No. 1 highest paying engineering job in our list experienced a decline of 0.89% from 2016 to 2021 (year the latest BLS wage data is available for): From $147,030 down to $145,720. While that latter figure is still almost $90,000 more than the average annual salary for All Occupations, it’s intriguing which engineering jobs witnessed a decrease in wages, and which didn’t.

Below is a breakdown of the top 10 highest paying engineering jobs in the United States:

1. Petroleum Engineers

Average Annual Petroleum Engineers Salary: $145,720

Average Hourly Petroleum Engineers Wage: $70.06

2. Computer Hardware Engineers

Average Annual Computer Hardware Engineers Salary: $136,230

Average Hourly Computer Hardware Engineers Wage: $65.50

3. Aerospace Engineers

Average Annual Aerospace Engineers Salary: $122,970

Average Hourly Aerospace Engineers Wage: $59.12

4. Chemical Engineers

Average Annual Chemical Engineers Salary: $121,840

Average Hourly Chemical Engineers Wage: $58.58

5. Nuclear Engineers

Average Annual Nuclear Engineers Salary: $121,760

Average Hourly Nuclear Engineers Wage: $58.54

6. Electronics Engineers, Except Computer

Average Annual Electronics Engineers, Except Computer Salary: $115,490

Average Hourly Electronics Engineers, Except Computer Wage: $55.53

7. Electrical Engineers

Average Annual Electrical Engineers Salary: $107,890

Average Hourly Electrical Engineers Wage: $51.87

8. Engineers, All Other

Average Annual Engineers, All Other Salary: $107,800

Average Hourly Engineers, All Other Wage: $51.83

9. Materials Engineers

Average Annual Materials Engineers Salary: $101,950

Average Hourly Materials Engineers Wage: $49.02

10. Bioengineers and Biomedical Engineers

Average Annual Bioengineers and Biomedical Engineers Salary: $101,020

Average Hourly Bioengineers and Biomedical Engineers Wage: $48.57

Trends in the Highest Paying Engineering Jobs

There are some noteworthy trends when it comes to the highest paying engineering jobs. The engineering occupation that experienced the biggest growth in average annual pay is Chemical Engineers, which increased by 15.58%, from $105,420 in 2016 to $121,840 in 2021. Nuclear Engineers come in second place here, seeing its average annual wage increase by 14.92% over the same period: From $105,950 to $121,760. And the engineering job with the third highest growth over the last five years is Computer Hardware Engineers, which increased by 14.77%: From $118,700 to $136,230.

Below you’ll find a table of all highest paying engineering jobs in the U.S. that the BLS has wage data for. Included in the table are the occupation titles, average hourly wages, average annual wages, and change over the last five years: