Engineering continues to be a highly in-demand career across a wide variety of industries, which is great news for aspiring engineers. An engineering degree opens the door to a wide variety of career paths, each offering its own selection of high-paying, in-demand jobs. But how do you choose which engineering career path is the best fit for you?
The responsibilities and salary of an engineering position will vary based on industry, discipline and level of seniority. To build a successful and enjoyable career, choose a path that aligns not only with your skills and area of study but also with the type of work you’re passionate about.
To help provide you with some direction for your career, here’s an overview of how most engineering career paths progress and four of the most popular engineering areas.
What You Need to Know About Engineering Paths
While every engineering career path is different, there are some common progression paths across industries. For example, most engineers will enter a field and follow an entry-level-to-senior path.
As an engineer that is either a recent graduate and/or has a few years of work experience, you will join an organization at the entry-level position. Here you’ll assist with design and development tasks, perform tests and analysis, troubleshoot technical issues, learn industry tools and standards and support senior-level engineers. After a few years, you’ll move up to the next position and, eventually, advance to a senior engineer role.
As a senior engineer you’ll take on greater responsibility (and receive higher compensation) by leading complex projects, making higher-level decisions, mentoring junior staff and managing project timelines. You’ll also be expected to troubleshoot critical issues, foster collaboration across teams and develop technical solutions that align with business goals.
While it’s possible to stay at the senior engineer level, you could also advance into a different position, such as a staff engineer, tech lead or engineering manager:
- Staff Engineers are expected to bridge technical and managerial roles while driving innovation and maintaining system integrity. They provide technical leadership across multiple projects, especially more complex and high-risk projects, setting standards and optimizing existing processes and procedures. They will often take on coaching and mentoring responsibilities.
- Tech Leads oversee the technical direction of a project, ensuring alignment with company goals. While tech leads are expected to code, they have an expanded responsibility to guide their teams through challenges and technical bottlenecks. In most cases, a tech lead will be more focused on technical leadership and less on managerial tasks.
- Engineering Managers are experienced engineers who are expected to lead teams and projects. They combine their technical expertise with strong leadership and management skills to assist in resource allocation, stakeholder communication and technical decision-making. They’re expected to direct and coordinate a full range of tasks and activities to ensure alignment with business goals.
Past these positions you can choose to:
- Continue along a technical track, reaching the level of principal engineer or distinguished engineer
- Move into an executive role such as vice president of engineering or chief technology officer
- Make a lateral move into other areas of interest, such as a data scientist or business analyst
Of course, as you advance within your career, you don’t have to start from scratch when switching between companies or even industries. If you have several years of experience as an engineering manager, you can transfer to a similar role, provided you have the required amount of experience and level of education.
Specific fields will have their own variations on this career progression. Here’s some basic information to help you develop a strategy for your own engineering career development.*
* All of the following salary ranges are estimates based on aggregates from different job sites. Specific salary amounts will always vary based on factors including location, industry, company size and level of experience.
Technology and Computing
Following a computer, technical and/or systems engineering career path will require a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering, computer science or a similar degree. You’ll need a balance of skills in writing and testing code, creating technical designs, troubleshooting and optimizing system performance, collaborating across teams and staying updated on industry trends.
Advancing into higher level or leadership roles will require several years of experience and/or a master’s degree in a computer science field or in engineering management. You can also aid your career advancement by earning relevant certifications in areas such as:
- Computer architecture
- Computer network security
- Machine learning
- Cloud computing
Entry-Level Positions Salary Ranges: $60,000 to $90,000
- Junior Software Engineer — Assists in coding, debugging and testing software applications. They follow design specifications, collaborate with senior engineers, learn industry practices and contribute to small tasks or modules within larger projects.
- IT Support Specialist — Troubleshoots hardware, software and network issues. They assist users with technical problems, perform system maintenance, install and configure software and ensure smooth IT operations.
Mid-Level Positions Salary Ranges: $85,000 to $130,000
- Software Engineer — Designs, develops and maintains software solutions, mentors junior engineers and contributes to architectural decisions. They handle more complex coding tasks, optimize performance, ensure code quality and collaborate with cross-functional teams.
- Systems Administrator — Manages and maintains an organization’s IT infrastructure, including servers, networks and systems. They ensure system reliability, perform routine updates, troubleshoot issues, implement security measures and support users.
Senior-Level Positions Salary Ranges: $120,000 to $180,000
- Senior Software Engineer — Leads complex projects, designs scalable systems and mentors other engineers. They make high-level architectural decisions, ensure code quality, optimize performance and collaborate with non-engineering stakeholders.
- Lead DevOps Engineer — Designs and implements Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) pipelines, automates deployment processes and ensures system reliability. They manage infrastructure, monitor performance and collaborate with development teams to streamline operations.
Physical Systems and Infrastructure
Following a career path in building physical systems or infrastructure requires earning your bachelor’s degree in mechanical, electrical, aerospace and/or structural engineering. These fields require that you have strong analytical and problem-solving skills, mathematical and technical expertise, proficiency in design software (like CAD) and solid knowledge of industry standards.
Advancing into higher-level positions requires strong critical thinking skills, attention to detail, project management abilities and effective communication skills for collaborating with cross-functional teams and non-engineering stakeholders. These skills can be earned either on-the-job or developed through higher-level graduate studies, such as programs in engineering management. You can also aid your career by earning relevant certifications in areas such as:
- Quality engineering
- Systems engineering
- Energy management
- Digital manufacturing
- Project management
Entry-Level Positions Salary Ranges: $60,000 to $75,000
- Junior Engineer — Assists in design, analysis and project tasks by performing calculations, creating drafts and supporting testing under senior engineers’ guidance. They’re expected to troubleshoot basic issues and contribute to project documentation and team collaboration.
- Design Engineer — Creates detailed plans and specifications for systems or components by developing and testing prototypes, running simulations and refining designs. Their role involves problem-solving, using CAD software and collaborating with other teams to optimize functionality and efficiency.
Mid-Level Positions Salary Ranges: $75,000 to $100,000
- Engineer — Handles more complex design tasks, leads small projects and ensures compliance with standards. Their role involves troubleshooting issues, mentoring junior engineers and contributing to project planning and execution to optimize systems
- Project Engineer — Manages engineering tasks within projects by coordinating design, execution and timelines. They bridge technical teams and project managers, ensure resources align with goals and oversee quality and compliance to ensure projects stay on budget and schedule.
Senior-Level Positions Salary Ranges: $100,000 to $150,000
- Senior Engineer — Leads complex projects, makes key design decisions and ensures technical quality. Their role involves strategic planning, overseeing standards compliance, mentoring teams, troubleshooting critical issues and managing client and stakeholder communications.
- Lead Engineer — Oversees project design and execution, manages engineering teams and ensures technical alignment with goals. They’re expected to manage project planning and resource management, make critical decisions and coordinate cross-discipline efforts to ensure project quality and compliance.
Chemical and Biological Sciences
A chemical, biomedical and/or materials engineering career path will require a bachelor’s degree within one of those fields. You’ll need strong analytical and problem-solving skills, proficiency in lab techniques, knowledge of data analysis and project management in addition to effective communication skills for collaborating and documenting results.
Advancing into higher-level positions will require a master’s or doctorate level graduate degree. Depending on your industry, you may also need state certification to be licensed as a professional engineer. You can also aid your career by earning relevant certifications in areas such as:
- Fundamentals of engineering
- Professional engineering
- Biomedical equipment technician
- Certified reliability engineer
Entry-Level Position Salary Ranges: $60,000 to $75,000
- Junior Engineer — Assists with research, design, and testing by performing routine analyses and helping to develop and refine processes or products. Their role involves learning technical skills, documenting findings and contributing to project tasks under guidance of more senior engineers.
- Process Engineer — Ensures efficiency, safety and quality by analyzing data, troubleshooting issues and implementing improvements. Their role involves optimizing and monitoring manufacturing processes, developing process protocols and coordinating with production teams to meet operational goals.
Mid-Level Position Salary Ranges: $80,000 to $110,000
- Engineer — Leads project tasks, mentors junior engineers and ensures technical and regulatory compliance. Their role involves troubleshooting, optimizing processes and coordinating with cross-functional teams to achieve project objectives.
- Project Engineer — Manages project execution by coordinating tasks and solving problems to ensure timely delivery. They oversee design, implementation and testing phases, liaise with stakeholders and ensure compliance with technical and safety standards.
Senior-Level Position Salary Ranges: $100,000 to $150,000
- Senior Engineer — Leads complex projects, makes strategic design decisions and ensures technical excellence by mentoring teams and managing project scope and resources. Their role involves high-level problem-solving, stakeholder communication and maintaining compliance with industry standards and regulations.
- Lead Process Engineer — Directs process design and optimization to ensure efficiency and safety. They oversee process scaling and strategic planning to drive innovation, troubleshoot major issues and implement improvements throughout the engineering process.
Environmental and Industrial Processes
Following a career path in environmental or industrial processes requires earning your bachelor’s degree in the fields of environmental, industrial and/or nuclear engineering. All roles involve building solutions to problems that comply with regulations with an emphasis on improving sustainability and safety. The main focus of environmental engineers is to manage pollution and protect ecosystems; industrial engineers to optimize processes and systems for efficiency and cost-effectiveness; and nuclear engineers to maintain the safe operation and development of nuclear systems and reactors.
Advancing into higher level positions requires strong critical thinking skills, attention to detail, project management abilities and effective communication skills. These skills can be earned either on-the-job or developed through higher-level graduate studies. You can also aid your career by earning relevant certifications in areas such as:
- Certified safety professional
- Certified hazardous material manager
- Environmental systems manager
- Certified energy manager
- OSHA safety
Entry-Level Position Salary Ranges: $60,000 to $75,000
- Junior Engineer — Assists with data analysis, task design and project support by conducting research, implementing solutions and ensuring compliance with regulations. Their role involves performing routine checks and contributing to project documentation.
- Process Engineer — Designs, monitors and optimizes processes to enhance efficiency and safety. They analyze system performance, troubleshoot issues and implement improvements to ensure regulatory compliance and achieve operational and sustainability goals.
Mid-Level Position Salary Ranges: $75,000 to $100,000
- Engineer — Manages projects, conducts complex analyses, oversees process improvements and ensures compliance with best-practices and regulatory standards. Their role involves problem-solving, coordinating with other teams and contributing to strategic planning and execution.
- Project Engineer — Responsible for project execution, coordinating design and implementation to ensure adherence to schedules and budgets. They oversee technical details, liaise with stakeholders and ensure compliance with regulations while driving project success from start to finish.
Senior-Level Position Salary Ranges: $100,000 and $160,000
- Senior Engineer — Leads complex projects by making high-level technical decisions and ensuring compliance with regulations. They mentor teams, manage project scopes and resources to successfully complete projects and drive process improvements.
- Lead Process Engineer — Directs process design and optimization to ensure safety and efficiency. They handle complex troubleshooting, implement improvements and coordinate with various departments to meet regulatory standards and enhance system performance and reliability.
FAQs
How to Choose a Career Path
Choosing the right engineering career path isn’t easy, which is why analyzing your options is so important. While the fundamental skills you learn are transferable across industries and career paths, every path has its own benefits and challenges. Take the time to explore and evaluate the engineering career paths that align with your goals and interests, and that you believe will be the most fulfilling.
If you’re interested in discovering which engineering career path might be the best fit for you, then download our free eBook, From Engineer to Leader: How to Transition from the Technical to Management Path for the questions and career examples that can help you find your way forward.
