<p>Which engineers- chemical, mechanical, biomedical, civil, electical, etc.- make the most money? Can you list it in order from most to least? Thanks.</p>
<p>Depends on what company they are with, how long they have been working for them, and in what region they live in. Generally right out of college, petro engineers make the most and civil or industrial make the least. But you also have to factor in benefits and the environment in which you work in.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos027.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos027.htm</a> FTW</p>
<p>for an undergrad degree (BS) the nation's average is
Chemical - $55k
Electrical - $53k
Computer - $52k
and then civil or mechanical around $48 or something if I remember correctly.</p>
<p>This is from cnn</p>
<p>Well, I think the highest salary is for Aeronautical/Aerospace Engineering s compared to evry other engineering.I would rank Computer Engineering second and Mechanical Engineering third....but again its all conditional.</p>
<p>I would say that just out of a university Aerospace/Aeronautical Engineers are the highest earners. But in the long run i think they are over run by Computer Engineers due to the vast scope in the Computer field and also the Naval, Nuclear and Petroleum Engineering sector is very good in the long run.</p>
<p>This is my opinion. </p>
<p>You could probably visit <a href="http://www.studentsreview.com%5B/url%5D">www.studentsreview.com</a> for more information but i fully do not trust this site (especially in terms of the earnings) as some majors have ridiculously high earnings than mentioned in other sites.</p>
<p>Computer Hardware Engineers on average start out making more than all other specialties except for niche ones like Petroleum and Nuclear.</p>
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Well, I think the highest salary is for Aeronautical/Aerospace Engineering s compared to evry other engineering.
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I would say that just out of a university Aerospace/Aeronautical Engineers are the highest earners.
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<p>Uh, no, not even close. The highest, by far, is petroleumE, as far as a starting salary right out of bachelor's. And it will most likely stay that way as long as the price of oil remains high. </p>
<p>What makes PetE especially appealing (in a sense) is that the bulk of the petroleum engineering jobs are located in places with low costs of living, i.e. the Texas/Louisiana Gulf Coast. So you're making a good salary, AND you don't have to spend much of it to live. Either that, or the job is in such a remote location that the company ends up footing your living costs while you're onsite. For example, hardly anybody other than the native Inuit actually lives permanently on the Alaska North Slope (Prudhoe Bay), but there are plenty of petroleum engineers temporarily living there on company expense, working the fields. These guys are basically not paying for anything. So all the money they are making is getting banked. The same thing can be said for working offshore somewhere.</p>
<p>Now, to be fair, it should be said that that's a pretty harsh lifestyle. Frankly, nobody (again, other than the natives) really wants to be on the North Slope. Nobody really wants to be on an offshore oil platform. So the quality of life of the petroleum engineer can be pretty low, as you can often times find yourself in places where you don't really want to be for months on end. But it's undeniable that the money is good. </p>
<p><a href="http://stats.bls.gov/oco/ocos027.htm#earnings%5B/url%5D">http://stats.bls.gov/oco/ocos027.htm#earnings</a>
<a href="http://www.jobweb.com/SalaryInfo/05_toppdmajors.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.jobweb.com/SalaryInfo/05_toppdmajors.htm</a></p>
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Computer Hardware Engineers on average start out making more than all other specialties except for niche ones like Petroleum and Nuclear
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<p>Uh, I don't think so. See the BLS link above, and also the link below. ChemE's make more than CompE's. </p>
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Uh, I don't think so. See the BLS link above, and also the link below. ChemE's make more than CompE's.
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It depends on what numbers you look at. Looking at the percentile scale, "Computer Hardware Engineers" put a significant margin on ChemEs above the 50th percentile.</p>
<p>I do think that ChemEs would earn more though, just from personal experience.</p>
<p>BLS data:</p>
<p>Specialty 10% 25% 50% 75% 90%
Chemical 49,030 60,920 76,770 94,740 115,180
Computer hardware 50,490 63,730 81,150 102,100 123,560</p>
<p>From personal experience, computer hardware engineers do very well. Several of my friends who are Computer Hardware Engineers started in the mid-70s upon the completion of their MS.</p>
<p>Again, depends on location. In some places, EE/CE are the biggest, places like the Gulf Coast have more ChemE, etc.</p>
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It depends on what numbers you look at. Looking at the percentile scale, "Computer Hardware Engineers" put a significant margin on ChemEs above the 50th percentile.
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<p>Uh, actually, it doesn't depend on that at all. Remember, the guy claimed that computer hardware engineers * started * higher than all other specialties, something that the BLS numbers clearly shows to be untrue. Remember, he specifically said * starting *. He said nothing about what happens later in your career.</p>
<p>From post #7:</p>
<p>"Computer Hardware Engineers on average ** start out ** making more than all other specialties except for niche ones like Petroleum and Nuclear "</p>
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Uh, actually, it doesn't depend on that at all. Remember, the guy claimed that computer hardware engineers started higher than all other specialties, something that the BLS numbers clearly shows to be untrue. Remember, he specifically said starting . He said nothing about what happens later in your career.
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I see. Of course, starting is probably the most irrelevant of all data points, but whatever. Also, I think the BLS has incorrect data, because it would be a significant statistical anomaly for computer hardware engineers to make more money at every percentile, yet have a smaller starting salary.</p>
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I see. Of course, starting is probably the most irrelevant of all data points, but whatever
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<p>Hey, I wasn't the one who brought up starting salaries. If you don't like it, you should take it up with the person who brought it up. </p>
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Also, I think the BLS has incorrect data, because it would be a significant statistical anomaly for computer hardware engineers to make more money at every percentile, yet have a smaller starting salary.
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<p>Well, as far as starting salaries goes, the BLS numbers are backed up by most other salary surveys. ChemE's consistently earn higher starting salaries than most other engineering fields. NACE and other organizations report the same thing as the BLS does. </p>
<p>If anything, it is perhaps the BLS * non * starting salaries that may be off. Perhaps computer hardware engineers don't make as much as the BLS says they do.</p>