Behold the Industries with High-Paying Electrical Engineering Jobs

Lawren Henderson
Staff Writer at Cluster

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So, you're skilled in electrical engineering – that’s pretty fortunate considering that every day the world shifts further away from hydrocarbons as a result of electrification. Take General Motors, the legacy automaker is expected to reconfigure its workforce with fewer powertrain and assembly workers while bringing on more electrical engineers as it attempts to scale its EV offerings. 

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median salary for an electrical engineer at $95,530. Those at the top of the field earn about $155,880 annually, and an advanced degree can tilt your earnings toward the higher side.

As for where the jobs are, well, organizations in California (24,690), Texas (14,300), New York (11,170), Michigan (10,280), and Massachusetts (8,260) account for 37.3% of all electrical engineers hiring in the country. 

If you’re looking to maximize your return on investment for that electrical engineering degree or degrees, then according to the BLS, positions in these industries will help you make the most bank. 


Support Activities for Mining  $123,940 – Who knew that mining operations needed electrical engineers and paid them so handsomely? Not me. This category includes companies performing support activities for coal, metal and nonmetallic mineral mining. CIMIC Group Limited, PT United Tractors Tbk, and Downer EDI Mining-Blasting Services aren't household names, but if you’re an electrical engineer you might want to get to know them as they operate in mining support. 

Oil and Gas Extraction  $122,830 –  The oil and gas industry is always looking for ways to lower costs, which is why they keep electrical engineers on their roster who can optimize energy systems. Refineries also require electrical engineers who are responsible for instrumentation & controls. Exxon Mobil, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips are three of the biggest US names in this space. 

Business Support Services  $116,020 – While Business Support Services is a broad category which could incorporate everything under the sun, its relevance to electrical engineers deals largely with Information Technology (IT) where professionals are needed to assist in the design of circuits and other electronic components. IBM, Oracle, and Microsoft are heavy hitters in this category. 

Wholesale Electronic Markets and Agents and Brokers  $115,780 – For electrical engineering purposes, this category deals primarily with systems software development. A lot of electrical engineers these days collaborate on complex software products and are integral to completing signal processing work. Cisco, Microsoft and Oracle are big boys here too.

Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing  $115,320 – Want to earn a bunch of coins and work on something cool like building rockets to Mars? Get yourself a job at an aerospace company. They're constantly on the lookout for electrical engineers who can design the litany of electric parts used in launch vehicles, aircraft, satellites, and missiles. Boeing, SpaceX, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman are aerospace names you probably already know, but Relativity Space and Rocket Lab are up and comers to watch out for.

If you're an electrical engineer looking for a job, we can help with that. Complete your (always) free Cluster profile and a talent recruiter will be in touch in about a day.

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www.clusterinc.com/articles/industries-with-high-paying-electrical-engineering-jobs
Published on
April 23, 2020