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Median pay
$111,910
Median annual pay for Electrical Engineer.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2024
Strong pay, broad physical-world applications, and growth tied to power systems, semiconductors, electrification, and infrastructure.
Strong pay, broad physical-world applications, and growth tied to power systems, semiconductors, electrification, and infrastructure.
The measurable baseline is $111,910 median pay, 7.2% projected employment change from 2024 to 2034, and about 11,700 annual openings. Those figures establish the national baseline; the occupation-specific evidence on this page is what makes the decision more useful than a generic profile.
The national median-pay figure in the current ChooseField dataset is $111,910. The 2024 self-employed share is 1%, which matters because self-employment can make outcomes less uniform across workers. A national median is a benchmark, not a personal forecast: experience, geography, employer type, specialty, credentials, and hours can move actual compensation materially.
BLS data in the ChooseField corpus put 2024 employment at 192,000 and projected 2034 employment at 205,700. That corresponds to 7.2% projected growth over the decade. BLS projects about 11,700 openings per year, including growth and replacement demand. This distinction matters when people ask whether a field is oversaturated: growth measures whether the occupation itself is getting larger, while annual openings also reflect people retiring, changing occupations, or leaving roles that must be refilled.
BLS lists the typical entry education as Bachelor's degree. Treat this entry path like an investment: compare the time and cost required to enter with the pay, annual openings, and alternatives available at a similar training level.
Power, semiconductors, and infrastructure matter. BLS expects engineers to remain important in sophisticated electronics, solar arrays, semiconductors, communications technologies, and electrical infrastructure. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2024–2034).
Electrical engineering's strongest advantage is breadth across physical systems. The BLS evidence in this brief connects demand to electronics, semiconductors, communications technologies, solar equipment, and electrical infrastructure. The tradeoff is a formal engineering education path rather than a shorter skilled-trade route.
This field is a stronger fit if you are comfortable with a bachelor's-level technical foundation and want work centered on designing, integrating, or improving real systems.
Before choosing Electrical Engineer, compare it with Computer Hardware Engineer, Mechanical Engineer, Electrician. The purpose is not to find a universal winner; it is to see how pay, training time, annual openings, work setting, and field-specific risks change when you move to an adjacent option.
Strong pay, broad physical-world applications, and growth tied to power systems, semiconductors, electrification, and infrastructure. The measurable baseline is $111,910 median pay, 7.2% projected 2024–34 employment change, about 11,700 annual openings, and a typical entry path of Bachelor's degree.
Compare Electrical Engineer with Computer Hardware Engineer, Mechanical Engineer on pay, training time, openings, working conditions, and occupation-specific evidence rather than relying on one score.
Compare Electrical Engineer with Computer Hardware Engineer, Mechanical Engineer on pay, training time, openings, working conditions, and occupation-specific evidence rather than relying on one score.
Electrical engineering's strongest advantage is breadth across physical systems. The BLS evidence in this brief connects demand to electronics, semiconductors, communications technologies, solar equipment, and electrical infrastructure. The tradeoff is a formal engineering education path rather than a shorter skilled-trade route.
National pay and employment projections come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Other sources are linked on their cards.