By Brennan, B.S. Engineering · Published · Updated · Pay data: May 2025, released August 2026
The main types of engineering degrees are electrical, mechanical, civil, computer, chemical, aerospace, biomedical, industrial and environmental engineering. Electrical (21%) and mechanical (20%) are the most common majors among working engineering graduates, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). All of them pay well. Workers with an engineering degree earn a median of $105,000, compared with $73,000 for all fields.
Each of these majors lines up with one of the main types of engineers. Smaller fields, such as petroleum, nuclear and materials engineering, have their own section further down.
I chose chemical engineering because I liked math and chemistry, and engineering combined the two. I also considered a chemistry degree, and even pre-med with chemistry, but people I talked to who worked in chemical plants told me engineering was the more lucrative career. Below is what I've learned about each type of engineering, from my own field and from peers who went into the others.
What are the different types of engineering?
The table compares the 9 majors on the main job each one leads to and what graduates of each major earn. Job pay and growth are from BLS; pay by major is from the New York Fed.
| Engineering major | Main job's median pay (2025) | Job growth, 2025-35 | Major's pay, early career | Major's pay, mid-career |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Computer engineering | $161,740 | 9% | $90,000 | $131,000 |
| Aerospace engineering | $134,960 | 8% | $85,000 | $130,000 |
| Chemical engineering | $125,040 | 5% | $85,000 | $135,000 |
| Electrical engineering | $125,040 | 8% | $82,000 | $123,000 |
| Biomedical engineering | $109,370 | 8% | not reported | not reported |
| Environmental engineering | $107,110 | 6% | not reported | not reported |
| Mechanical engineering | $104,110 | 11% | $80,000 | $120,000 |
| Industrial engineering | $102,440 | 12% | $83,000 | $100,000 |
| Civil engineering | $100,840 | 6% | $75,000 | $115,000 |
Main job: the matching BLS occupation (computer hardware engineers for computer engineering; electrical and electronics engineers for electrical engineering). Sources: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook (pages updated August 2026); Federal Reserve Bank of New York, The Labor Market for Recent College Graduates (2024 data; early career ages 22 to 27, mid-career 35 to 45, bachelor's degree only). The New York Fed doesn't report biomedical or environmental engineering separately.
For all 18 engineering jobs ranked by salary, see the highest paying engineering jobs.
Types of engineering majors
For each branch of engineering: the main job, who hires its graduates and what I've seen from peers in that field.
Electrical engineering
Median pay: $125,040 (with electronics engineers) · Job growth: 8% · Share of engineering grads: 21%
This group designs and tests electrical and electronic equipment, from components up to whole systems. Electrical engineers mostly work at engineering firms (22%) and electric power companies (10%); electronics engineers mostly work for the federal government (15%), telecommunications companies (14%) and semiconductor makers (14%).
My electrical engineering peers work at companies and engineering firms doing very specialized work. I think it fits students who are interested in robotics, how power moves and how to power things, or communications and telecommunications. Read more in what does an electrical engineer do?
Mechanical engineering
Median pay: $104,110 · Job growth: 11% · Share of engineering grads: 20%
Machines and thermal devices are the core of it: mechanical engineers design, build and test them. Their largest employers are architecture and engineering firms (20%), machinery makers (14%) and transportation equipment makers (10%).
My mechanical engineering peers went into defense companies such as Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin, engineering firms and the chemical industry. At my school, aerospace and biomedical engineering were concentrations within the mechanical engineering program. Read more in what does a mechanical engineer do?
Civil engineering
Median pay: $100,840 · Job growth: 6% · Share of engineering grads: 11%
Civil engineers handle the planning and design of buildings and infrastructure, and they supervise the construction and upkeep. About half work at engineering firms (51%), and many work for state (11%) or local (10%) government.
That matches my civil engineering peers: many went into engineering and design firms, and a lot of them work for state agencies. Read more in what does a civil engineer do?, or see how civil stacks up against mechanical in civil vs. mechanical engineering.
Computer engineering
Median pay: $161,740 · Job growth: 9% · Share of engineering grads: 10%
These engineers work on computers and related equipment, from research and design through testing. Their largest employers are semiconductor and electronic component makers (24%), research and development firms (18%) and computer systems design firms (15%). Software development is also common: BLS lists software developers as the top job among all engineering degree holders (10%). One of my peers double majored in computer and electrical engineering. Read more in what does a computer engineer do?, or compare the major with computer science in computer engineering vs. computer science.
Chemical engineering
Median pay: $125,040 · Job growth: 5%
Gasoline, detergents and paper all depend on chemical engineers, who use chemistry, physics and engineering to design the equipment and processes that make them. Their largest employers are chemical manufacturing (28%), engineering firms (11%) and research and development firms (9%). It's my field: read more in what does a chemical engineer do?
Aerospace engineering
Median pay: $134,960 · Job growth: 8%
Aircraft, spacecraft, satellites and missiles are the work here, from design through testing. Their largest employers are aerospace product and parts makers (38%), engineering firms (16%) and the federal government (15%). Many of my peers did an aerospace concentration within mechanical engineering and now work for companies like Boeing and Lockheed Martin, along with other commercial aircraft and defense companies. Read more in what does an aerospace engineer do?
Biomedical engineering
Median pay: $109,370 · Job growth: 8%
This field uses engineering and the sciences to design equipment, devices, computer systems and software. Their largest employers are research and development firms (22%), medical equipment makers (10%) and health care (10%). It's a more specialized field; at my school it was a concentration within mechanical engineering. Read more in what does a biomedical engineer do?
Industrial engineering
Median pay: $102,440 · Job growth: 12%
Industrial engineers design and test the systems that manage industrial production. Their largest employers are transportation equipment makers (15%), professional, scientific and technical services firms (14%) and computer and electronic product makers (11%). Looking at the growth numbers, it's projected to grow faster than any other engineering job on this page. Read more in what does an industrial engineer do?
Environmental engineering
Median pay: $107,110 · Job growth: 6%
Environmental problems are the focus here, and these engineers use engineering to solve them. Their largest employers are engineering firms (24%), state government (20%) and consulting firms (19%). Read more in what does an environmental engineer do?
Other types of engineering
BLS tracks several more engineering jobs. They're much smaller fields: each had fewer than 25,000 jobs in 2025, compared with 298,500 for mechanical engineers. Pay is still high.
| BLS job title | What they do | Median pay (2025) |
|---|---|---|
| Petroleum engineers | Find better ways to extract and produce oil and gas | $144,910 |
| Nuclear engineers | Work on projects and problems involving nuclear energy and nuclear waste disposal | $133,970 |
| Health and safety engineers | Make worksites and products safer | $115,160 |
| Materials engineers | Develop, process and test the materials products are made from | $112,860 |
| Marine engineers and naval architects | Design and evaluate marine vessels and ship machinery | $112,230 |
| Mining and geological engineers | Design safe, efficient ways to extract minerals and other resources | $106,220 |
| Agricultural engineers | Solve problems with power supplies, machines, structures, pollution, and storing and processing farm products | $98,590 |
Source: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, May 2025 median pay (pages last modified August 27 and October 29, 2026).
Petroleum engineering tops this list, but BLS projects just 2% job growth for it from 2025 to 2035. To see all of these ranked next to the nine majors above, check the engineering jobs ranked by pay.
Software engineering isn't on the BLS engineering list. Software developers are grouped with computer and information technology jobs, and they typically need a bachelor's degree in computer and information technology or a related field. For most students, that makes it a computer science path. If you're torn between the two, read how computer engineering and computer science differ.
Most popular engineering majors
Among workers with an engineering degree, the most common majors are electrical engineering (21%), mechanical engineering (20%), general engineering (13%), civil engineering (11%) and computer engineering (10%), according to the BLS. When I add those up, they cover about three out of four engineering graduates.
How to choose an engineering major
Start with a general direction. Each branch of engineering leans on different interests: if you don't like chemistry, chemical engineering probably isn't for you, because you use a lot of chemistry knowledge in it. Mechanical and electrical engineering are similar in some ways and different in others. For mechanical, you should have a genuine interest in the kind of work mechanical engineers do. For electrical, an interest in robotics, power or communications helps.
It helps that the engineering majors overlap early on. Almost all of them share the same math, plus physics and general education courses, in the first two years. Mechanical and electrical engineering also share some courses, such as circuits (see mechanical vs. electrical engineering). The overlap fades once you reach senior-level courses, so if you think you might switch, in my opinion the best time is between your freshman and junior years.
Difficulty is worth weighing too. My classmates mostly saw chemical and electrical as the toughest and civil as the most manageable, though that's their opinion, not a measured fact. For more, see what is the hardest engineering major? and is engineering a hard major?
Whichever branch you pick, choose a program accredited by ABET. To become a licensed Professional Engineer (PE), licensing boards generally require a bachelor's degree from an EAC/ABET-accredited program, plus passing the FE and PE exams and, in most states, four years of work experience.
All 9 of these majors are in our free quiz, so it's an easy way to narrow the list.
Engineering degree questions
What are the main types of engineering?
The main types are electrical, mechanical, civil, computer, chemical, aerospace, biomedical, industrial and environmental engineering. Electrical and mechanical are the most common majors.
Which type of engineering pays the most?
Among these majors, computer engineering leads to the highest-paying main job: computer hardware engineers earned a median of $161,740 in 2025. By major, computer engineering grads earned the most early in their careers ($90,000), and chemical engineering grads earned the most at mid-career ($135,000).
Do engineering degrees need to be ABET-accredited?
To become a licensed Professional Engineer, licensing boards generally require a bachelor's degree from an EAC/ABET-accredited program. Not every engineering job requires a license, but an accredited degree keeps that option open.
Where to go from here
See the highest paying engineering jobs, or compare engineering with every other field in our list of the highest paying college majors.
Sources
Pay and job counts are from the BLS, shares of graduates are from its Field of Degree tables, and pay by major is from the New York Fed. Every number was checked against those original pages, most recently on November 10, 2026.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Outlook Handbook: Architecture and Engineering Occupations (May 2025 median pay, 2025-35 projections, largest employers; pages last modified August 27 to October 29, 2026). bls.gov
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Field of Degree: Engineering (2024 Census Bureau data; last modified October 29, 2026). bls.gov
- Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The Labor Market for Recent College Graduates (outcomes by major, 2024 data). newyorkfed.org
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Outlook Handbook (May 2025 median pay; last modified August 27 to October 29, 2026): petroleum engineers, nuclear engineers, health and safety engineers, materials engineers, marine engineers and naval architects, mining and geological engineers, agricultural engineers, software developers.
- National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES). Licensure. ncees.org