SOC 17-0000

Architecture and Engineering Occupations

36 occupations sorted by median salary

The Architecture and Engineering Occupations major group (SOC 17-0000) contains 36 distinct occupations in the BLS Standard Occupational Classification system, each measured individually by the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey in May 2025. Combined U.S. OEWS employment across this group is approximately 2,617,130 estimated jobs in covered establishments for occupations where employment is separately reported. The equal-weighted mean of the published occupation medians inside this group is $96,064. It is a derived comparison benchmark, not the group’s worker-level mean or median and not a career-stage estimate.

The published medians span from $161,740 for Computer Hardware Engineers to $54,240 for Surveying and Mapping Technicians, a 3.0× endpoint ratio. The ranking establishes those occupation-level values but does not identify the effects of credentials, seniority, responsibility, or industry.

Use this page as a launch pad: each row links to the occupation's national profile, with percentile boundaries, local-area rows, projections, and education assignments where the relevant source publishes them. OEWS wages include straight-time pay, tips, commissions, incentive pay, and production bonuses. Employer benefits, overtime premiums, stock compensation, and nonproduction bonuses sit outside the estimate; their value varies too much to apply one site-wide uplift. For career planning, pair these medians with the 10th-to-90th percentile spread on each occupation's page so you understand the observed wage distribution before committing to an educational or certification pathway. Those percentile boundaries are not an individual's guaranteed floor or ceiling.

# Occupation Median Salary
1 Computer Hardware Engineers 17-2061 $161,740
2 Petroleum Engineers 17-2171 $144,910
3 Aerospace Engineers 17-2011 $134,960
4 Nuclear Engineers 17-2161 $133,970
5 Electronics Engineers, Except Computer 17-2072 $130,220
6 Chemical Engineers 17-2041 $125,040
7 Engineers, All Other 17-2199 $122,930
8 Electrical Engineers 17-2071 $120,630
9 Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors 17-2111 $115,160
10 Materials Engineers 17-2131 $112,860
11 Marine Engineers and Naval Architects 17-2121 $112,230
12 Bioengineers and Biomedical Engineers 17-2031 $109,370
13 Environmental Engineers 17-2081 $107,110
14 Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety Engineers 17-2151 $106,220
15 Mechanical Engineers 17-2141 $104,110
16 Industrial Engineers 17-2112 $102,440
17 Civil Engineers 17-2051 $100,840
18 Architects, Except Landscape and Naval 17-1011 $99,280
19 Agricultural Engineers 17-2021 $98,590
20 Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technologists and Technicians 17-3021 $82,890
21 Cartographers and Photogrammetrists 17-1021 $81,390
22 Landscape Architects 17-1012 $79,870
23 Engineering Technologists and Technicians, Except Drafters, All Other 17-3029 $78,350
24 Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technologists and Technicians 17-3023 $78,190
25 Electrical and Electronics Drafters 17-3012 $76,870
26 Surveyors 17-1022 $75,440
27 Mechanical Engineering Technologists and Technicians 17-3027 $74,510
28 Electro-Mechanical and Mechatronics Technologists and Technicians 17-3024 $73,900
29 Mechanical Drafters 17-3013 $71,550
30 Calibration Technologists and Technicians 17-3028 $67,820
31 Architectural and Civil Drafters 17-3011 $66,150
32 Industrial Engineering Technologists and Technicians 17-3026 $66,120
33 Civil Engineering Technologists and Technicians 17-3022 $64,950
34 Drafters, All Other 17-3019 $63,520
35 Environmental Engineering Technologists and Technicians 17-3025 $59,920
36 Surveying and Mapping Technicians 17-3031 $54,240

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Last updated: May 2025. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025.

SOC classification from BLS Standard Occupational Classification system, 2018 edition.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. These figures are computed directly from BLS OEWS occupational wage data for this SOC major group. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 2025.

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