Computer hardware engineers
May 2005 employment and annual earnings distribution, wage and salary workers
Computer Hardware Engineers: Research, design, develop, and test computer or computer-related equipment for commercial, industrial, military, or scientific use. May supervise the manufacturing and installation of computer or computer-related equipment and components.
In 2004 engineers held 1.4 million jobs. The distribution of employment by engineering specialty is as follows:
| Total, all engineers | 1,449,000 | 100% |
| Civil | 237,000 | 16.4 |
| Mechanical | 226,000 | 15.6 |
| Industrial | 177,000 | 12.2 |
| Electrical | 156,000 | 10.8 |
| Electronics, except computer | 143,000 | 9.9 |
| Computer hardware | 77,000 | 5.3 |
| Aerospace | 76,000 | 5.2 |
| Environmental | 49,000 | 3.4 |
| Chemical | 31,000 | 2.1 |
| Health and safety, except mining safety | 27,000 | 1.8 |
| Materials | 21,000 | 1.5 |
| Nuclear | 17,000 | 1.2 |
| Petroleum | 16,000 | 1.1 |
| Biomedical | 9,700 | 0.7 |
| Marine engineers and naval architects | 6,800 | 0.5 |
| Mining and geological, including mining safety | 5,200 | 0.4 |
| Agricultural | 3,400 | 0.2 |
| All other engineers | 172,000 | 11.8 |
About 555,000 engineering jobs were found in manufacturing industries, and another 378,000 wage and salary jobs were in the professional, scientific, and technical services sector, primarily in architectural, engineering, and related services and in scientific research and development services. Many engineers also worked in the construction and transportation, telecommunications, and utilities industries.
Federal, State, and local governments employed about 194,000 engineers in 2004. About 91,000 of these were in the Federal Government, mainly in the U.S. Departments of Defense, Transportation, Agriculture, Interior, and Energy and in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Most engineers in State and local government agencies worked in highway and public works departments. In 2004, about 41,000 engineers were self-employed, many as consultants.
Engineers are employed in every State, in small and large cities and in rural areas. Some branches of engineering are concentrated in particular industries and geographic areas—for example, petroleum engineering jobs tend to be located in areas with sizable petroleum deposits, such as Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Alaska, and California. Others, such as civil engineering, are widely dispersed, and engineers in these fields often move from place to place to work on different projects.
Engineers are employed in every major industry. The industries employing the most engineers in each specialty are given in the table below, along with the percent of occupational employment in the industry.
| Specialty | Industry | Percent |
|---|---|---|
|
||
Aerospace |
Aerospace product and parts manufacturing | 59.6 |
Agricultural |
State and local government | 22.6 |
Biomedical |
Scientific research and development services | 18.7 |
|
Pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing | 15.6 |
Chemical |
Chemical manufacturing | 27.8 |
|
Architectural, engineering, and related services | 16.3 |
Civil |
Architectural, engineering, and related services | 46.0 |
Computer hardware |
Computer and electronic product manufacturing | 43.2 |
|
Computer systems design and related services | 15.0 |
Electrical |
Architectural, engineering, and related services | 19.6 |
|
Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing | 10.8 |
Electronics, except computer |
Telecommunications | 17.5 |
|
Federal government | 14.4 |
Environmental |
Architectural, engineering, and related services | 28.9 |
|
State and local government | 19.6 |
Health and safety, except mining safety |
State and local government | 12.4 |
Industrial |
Machinery manufacturing | 7.8 |
|
Motor vehicle parts manufacturing | 7.1 |
Marine engineers and naval architects |
Architectural, engineering, and related services | 34.5 |
Materials |
Computer and electronic product manufacturing | 14.3 |
Mechanical |
Architectural, engineering, and related services | 18.1 |
|
Machinery manufacturing | 13.4 |
Mining and geological, including mining safety |
Mining | 49.9 |
Nuclear |
Electric power generation, transmission and distribution | 36.1 |
Petroleum |
Oil and gas extraction | 47.4 |
Earnings for engineers vary significantly by specialty, industry, and education. Even so, as a group, engineers earn some of the highest average starting salaries among those holding bachelor's degrees. The following tabulation shows average starting salary offers for engineers, according to a 2005 survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers.
| Curriculum | Bachelor's | Master's | Ph.D. |
| Aerospace/aeronautical/astronautical | $50,993 | $62,930 | $72,529 |
| Agricultural | 46,172 | 53,022 | |
| Bioengineering & biomedical | 48,503 | 59,667 | |
| Chemical | 53,813 | 57,260 | 79,591 |
| Civil | 43,679 | 48,050 | 59,625 |
| Computer | 52,464 | 60,354 | 69,625 |
| Electrical/electronics & communications | 51,888 | 64,416 | 80,206 |
| Environmental/environmental health | 47,384 | ||
| Industrial/manufacturing | 49,567 | 56,561 | 85,000 |
| Materials | 50,982 | ||
| Mechanical | 50,236 | 59,880 | 68,299 |
| Mining & mineral | 48,643 | ||
| Nuclear | 51,182 | 58,814 | |
| Petroleum | 61,516 | 58,000 |
Variation in median earnings and in the earnings distributions for engineers in the various branches of engineering also is significant. For engineers in specialties covered in this statement, earnings distributions by percentile in May 2004 are shown in the following tabulation.
| Specialty | 10% | 25% | 50% | 75% | 90% |
| Aerospace | $52,820 | $64,380 | $79,100 | $94,900 | $113,520 |
| Agricultural | 37,680 | 43,270 | 56,520 | 77,740 | 90,410 |
| Biomedical | 41,260 | 51,620 | 67,690 | 86,400 | 107,530 |
| Chemical | 49,030 | 60,920 | 76,770 | 94,740 | 115,180 |
| Civil | 42,610 | 51,430 | 64,230 | 79,920 | 94,660 |
| Computer hardware | 50,490 | 63,730 | 81,150 | 102,100 | 123,560 |
| Electrical | 47,310 | 57,540 | 71,610 | 88,400 | 108,070 |
| Electronics, except computer | 49,120 | 60,280 | 75,770 | 92,870 | 112,200 |
| Environmental | 40,620 | 50,740 | 66,480 | 83,690 | 100,050 |
| Health and safety, except mining safety | 39,930 | 49,900 | 63,730 | 79,500 | 92,870 |
| Industrial | 42,450 | 52,210 | 65,020 | 79,830 | 93,950 |
| Marine engineers and naval architects | 43,790 | 54,530 | 72,040 | 89,900 | 109,190 |
| Materials | 44,130 | 53,510 | 67,110 | 83,830 | 101,120 |
| Mechanical | 43,900 | 53,070 | 66,320 | 82,380 | 97,850 |
| Mining and geological, including mining safety | 39,700 | 50,500 | 64,690 | 83,050 | 103,790 |
| Nuclear | 61,790 | 73,340 | 84,880 | 100,220 | 118,870 |
| Petroleum | 48,260 | 65,350 | 88,500 | 113,180 | 140,800 |
In the Federal Government, mean annual salaries for engineers ranged from $100,059 in ceramic engineering to $70,086 in agricultural engineering in 2005.
(from the Occupational Outlook Handbook: Engineers)
See more recent statistics for employed workers below.
May 2005 employment and annual earnings distribution, wage and salary workers
National Occupational Employment and Earnings by Industry (NAICS sector and 3-digit industry group)
| Computer hardware engineers | |||||
| Percentile earnings distribution | |||||
| 10th | 25th | 50th | 75th | 90th | |
| Mining employment: 240 mean earnings: $80,620 (EC) (def) (IG) | $48,760 | $57,110 | $79,050 | $98,160 | $116,640 |
| Support Activities for Mining employment: n.a. mean earnings: $82,900 | $48,770 | $57,150 | $82,250 | $101,890 | $120,420 |
| Construction employment: 120 mean earnings: $59,860 (EC) (def) (IG) | $36,050 | $48,740 | $55,250 | $77,030 | $89,180 |
| Specialty Trade Contractors employment: n.a. mean earnings: $57,880 | $35,300 | $48,000 | $53,860 | $71,880 | $88,080 |
| Manufacturing employment: 36,430 mean earnings: $90,620 (EC) (def) (IG) | $58,110 | $70,150 | $87,200 | $109,540 | $133,070 |
| Chemical Manufacturing employment: 40 mean earnings: $67,990 | $52,090 | $59,280 | $66,640 | $78,640 | $90,010 |
| Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing employment: 70 mean earnings: $63,830 | $33,510 | $46,730 | $62,280 | $78,150 | $101,210 |
| Machinery Manufacturing employment: 490 mean earnings: $88,270 | $51,630 | $63,120 | $84,880 | $112,090 | $134,810 |
| Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing employment: 34,990 mean earnings: $90,960 | $58,440 | $70,530 | $87,480 | $109,890 | $133,520 |
| Electrical Equipment, Appliance, and Component Manufacturing employment: 280 mean earnings: $84,180 | $57,090 | $66,940 | $82,120 | $97,790 | $112,250 |
| Transportation Equipment Manufacturing employment: 350 mean earnings: $82,020 | $57,220 | $65,920 | $80,300 | $96,600 | $112,570 |
| Wholesale Trade employment: 4,550 mean earnings: $85,950 (EC) (def) (IG) | $52,440 | $65,820 | $84,980 | $105,260 | $120,260 |
| Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods employment: 4,360 mean earnings: $86,000 | $52,460 | $65,800 | $85,010 | $105,380 | $120,060 |
| Wholesale Electronic Markets and Agents and Brokers employment: 180 mean earnings: $84,050 | $52,030 | $65,790 | $83,880 | $98,370 | $122,970 |
| Retail Trade employment: 230 mean earnings: $61,920 (EC) (def) (IG) | $32,290 | $38,960 | $59,870 | $80,960 | $101,140 |
| Electronics and Appliance Stores employment: 170 mean earnings: n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. |
| Transportation and Warehousing employment: 180 mean earnings: $69,600 (EC) (def) (IG) | $49,470 | $56,940 | $70,680 | $84,400 | $92,610 |
| Warehousing and Storage employment: 60 mean earnings: $67,060 | $35,730 | $53,390 | $68,660 | $83,850 | $93,510 |
| Information employment: 7,190 mean earnings: $81,790 (EC) (def) (IG) | $51,310 | $64,540 | $78,120 | $95,530 | $117,910 |
| Publishing Industries (except Internet) employment: 750 mean earnings: $86,840 | $47,510 | $65,510 | $84,970 | $107,890 | $131,960 |
| Broadcasting (except Internet) employment: 50 mean earnings: $84,910 | $54,290 | $68,600 | $83,760 | $94,860 | $111,430 |
| Internet Publishing and Broadcasting employment: 60 mean earnings: $79,910 | $42,030 | $53,860 | $78,890 | $106,450 | $118,610 |
| Telecommunications employment: 4,770 mean earnings: $77,750 | $53,430 | $64,430 | $75,570 | $90,920 | $108,920 |
| Internet Service Providers, Web Search Portals, and Data Processing Service employment: 1,560 mean earnings: $91,670 | $44,590 | $64,920 | $87,240 | $112,410 | $141,740 |
| Finance and Insurance employment: 640 mean earnings: $78,780 (EC) (def) (IG) | $58,070 | $65,890 | $78,100 | $89,940 | $107,520 |
| Credit Intermediation and Related Activities employment: 610 mean earnings: $78,650 | $57,870 | $65,670 | $78,020 | $89,910 | $107,500 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services employment: 20,820 mean earnings: $86,810 (EC) (def) (IG) | $48,380 | $64,080 | $84,130 | $106,700 | $130,510 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services employment: 20,820 mean earnings: $86,810 | $48,380 | $64,080 | $84,130 | $106,700 | $130,510 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises employment: 1,550 mean earnings: $87,280 (EC) (def) (IG) | $52,280 | $65,440 | $83,090 | $105,680 | $131,040 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises employment: 1,550 mean earnings: $87,280 | $52,280 | $65,440 | $83,090 | $105,680 | $131,040 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services employment: 840 mean earnings: $85,360 (EC) (def) (IG) | $48,670 | $64,830 | $82,770 | $103,780 | $128,940 |
| Administrative and Support Services employment: 840 mean earnings: $85,360 | $48,670 | $64,830 | $82,770 | $103,780 | $128,940 |
| Educational Services employment: 1,090 mean earnings: $58,120 (EC) (def) (IG) | $35,630 | $43,990 | $55,450 | $70,250 | $87,190 |
| Educational Services employment: 1,090 mean earnings: $58,120 | $35,630 | $43,990 | $55,450 | $70,250 | $87,190 |
| Health Care and Social Assistance employment: 100 mean earnings: $68,250 (EC) (def) (IG) | $40,540 | $53,390 | $68,900 | $83,680 | $94,280 |
| Hospitals employment: 70 mean earnings: $67,930 | $39,160 | $55,450 | $68,880 | $82,340 | $93,230 |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) employment: 170 mean earnings: $72,710 (EC) (def) (IG) | $39,710 | $46,260 | $64,850 | $88,960 | $118,910 |
| Repair and Maintenance employment: 160 mean earnings: $74,780 | $40,960 | $47,480 | $67,180 | $90,590 | $121,520 |
| Federal, State, and Local Government (OES Designation) employment: 4,000 mean earnings: $83,330 (def) (IG) | $54,830 | $67,750 | $83,800 | $101,110 | $112,820 |
| Federal, State, and Local Government (OES Designation) employment: 4,000 mean earnings: $83,330 | $54,830 | $67,750 | $83,800 | $101,110 | $112,820 |
source: Occupational Employment Statistics Program; about these estimates
The (EC) links lead to data from the Economic Census from the Census Bureau.
The (def) links lead to 2002 NAICS industry definitions from the Census Bureau.
The (IG) links lead to Industry at a Glance industry profiles from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.