Robotics Engineers

Employment opportunities for robotics engineers are closely tied to economic conditions in the United States and in the global marketplace. Overall, job opportunities in robotics are expected to be good over the next few years, but competition for engineering and jobs will be stiff, and opportunities will be best for those that have advanced degrees.

The U.S. Department of Labor reports the following employment outlooks for engineers by specialty:

• aerospace: +6 percent, faster than average
• computer hardware: +7 percent, faster than average
• electrical: +9 percent, much faster than average
• electronics (except computer): +9 percent, much faster than average
• industrial: +12 percent, much faster than average
• materials: +7 percent, faster than average
• mechanical: +11 percent, much faster than average

The use of industrial robots is expected to grow as robots become more programmable and flexible and as manufacturing processes become more automated. Growth is also expected in nontraditional applications, such as education, health care, security, and nonindustrial purposes. Future employment in robotics will depend on future demand for new applications, as well as available capital to spend on research and development. The International Federation of Robotics reported that there were more than 4.2 million industrial robots operating in factories worldwide—up from 2.7 million in 2020.