Mechanical Engineer: main tradeoff

Solid pay and broad industry optionality, with automation itself creating demand for engineers who integrate increasingly complex equipment.

Computer Hardware Engineer: main tradeoff

Very high pay and semiconductor/AI infrastructure tailwinds, but a much smaller labor market than software.

Which should you choose?

Computer Hardware Engineer has the higher national median pay in the BLS data. Mechanical Engineer has the higher projected 2024–2034 growth rate. The larger decision is whether you prefer the training path, work style, and occupation-specific tradeoffs of Mechanical Engineer or Computer Hardware Engineer.