Engineers

Wages and salaries for engineers vary greatly by specialty, but starting salaries for engineers are often among the highest offered to workers with a bachelor's degree. A winter 2019 survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers found that new graduates with a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering majors earned $72,889, the highest starting salary among all surveyed engineering majors. Electrical engineering majors received $70,635, while mechanical engineering graduates received $70,329. 

The U.S. Department of Labor reports that engineers earned the following mean annual earnings by specialty in May 2018:

• aerospace, $117,100
• agricultural, $79,090
• biomedical, $95,090
• chemical, $114,470
• civil, $93,720
• electronics, $107,930
• environmental, $92,640
• industrial, $91,630
• marine, $98,970
• materials, $96,930
• mechanical, $92,800
• mining and geological, $98,420
• nuclear, $110,790
• petroleum, $156,370.

Salaries for engineers ranged from less than $46,500 (agricultural engineers) for the lowest 10 percent to $191,780 (petroleum engineers) or more for the top 10 percent. 

Engineers who work for a company, nonprofit organization, or government agency usually receive benefits such as vacation days, sick leave, health and life insurance, and a savings and pension program. Self-employed engineers must provide their own benefits.