Electrical Engineer Salary In USA
One of the most important factors for aspiring electrical engineers is the salary. And rightly so. Before entering any field, it is wise to figure out the estimated amount you will be making once you are done with your education.
The following article lists down the details about electrical engineering careers, how much does an electrical engineer make and electrical engineering job requirements, among other things.
Electrical engineers can work in different industries and enjoy careers as communication engineers, electrical engineer, design engineer, control engineer, and aeronautical engineer. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports 2021, the national mean annual wage for electrical engineers was $107,890. Below are the top paying states for electrical engineers.
|State||Annual Mean Wage|
|District of Columbia||$123,280|
Source: *U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2021)
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What is an Electrical Engineer?
An electrical engineer is a trained professional who designs, develops, tests and supervises the manufacturing of different kinds of electrical equipment. These engineers typically work in various industries, including engineering services, telecommunications and the federal government.
Before we get into the details of salaries, let’s take a quick look at how to become a successful electrical engineer in the US.
- Get a bachelor’s degree from an ABET-accredited engineering program
- Pass the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam
- Get relevant work experience of at least 4 years
- Get a passing score on the Professional Engineering (PE) exam
You can get your license to practice after you have completed the above steps. To save some time, you can also go for an electrical engineering online course, though it would be hard to find a completely online program in this field.
Electrical Engineering Job Requirements
The requirements for electrical engineering jobs would vary according to the occupation. For instance, you could be working with energy systems, microelectronics, telecommunications, photonics or signal processing as part of your job description. You are advised to check requirements for individual job postings before applying anywhere.
|Education Required||Bachelor’s Degree from Accredited College|
|Key Skills||Mathematics & Physics Skills, Technological Knowledge, Critical Thinking, Basic Circuit Knowledge, Organizational Skills|
|Job Growth (2020-2030)||7%|
|Average Mean Salary (2021)||$107,890 per year|
Source: *U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2021) and O*Net Online
How Much Does an Electrical Engineer make?
As per data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, electrical and electronics engineers made an annual median pay of $99,070 in 2018. This translates to $47.63 per hour. The median income for electronics engineers except computer was $102,700. The industries that paid the highest to electrical engineers are as follows:
|Industry||2018 Median Pay|
|Research and development in the physical, engineering and life sciences||$108,130|
|Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing||$100,630|
|Semiconductor and other electronic component manufacturing||$99,810|
|Electric power generation, transmission and distribution||$96,920|
Electrical Engineer Interesting Facts
If you are planning on going for the ideal job opportunity, you would be interested in the following data on electrical engineers careers.
- Top paying industry for electrical engineers: Oil and Gas Extraction – $126,610 annual mean wage
- Industry with the highest concentration of employment for electrical engineers: Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution – 18,040 jobs
- State with the highest employment level for electrical engineers: California – 26,570 jobs
- State with the highest concentration of jobs for electrical engineers: New Hampshire – 3.01 employment per 1000 jobs
- Top paying state for electrical engineers: Alaska – $119,130 annual mean wage
The electrical engineer salary you earn at the end of the day would be dependent on your educational qualifications, experience, location of your job, electrical engineering job requirements and any electrical engineering benefits you get as part of your job.