The World of Engineering: Top Paying Engineering Jobs in the USA

Engineers are the backbone of modern society, designing and creating the systems, structures, and materials that make up our world. Their work is complex, demanding both physical and intellectual investment, but incredibly rewarding. From rockets to aircraft and from petroleum drilling to chemical processing, engineers are responsible for building the world we see today. Many engineering positions in the United States earn high salaries, making them a lucrative career choice for those with the right skillset. Below are some of the top paying engineering jobs in the USA.

Aerospace Engineer, Level V
A level five Aerospace Engineer is one of those rare jobs in the US that truly involves rocket science. These individuals earn an average salary of $119,431 and have at least eight years of experience. Their job involves designing, testing and developing missiles, aircrafts, and spaceships. Astronauts’ lives depend on the quality of their work, as do reliable missile operation systems while in space. Therefore, they must have expertise in propulsion, aerodynamics, and avionics. A senior Aerospace Engineer may also supervise other engineers and have high-level responsibilities for military and/or civilian projects.

Engineering Manager
An engineering manager is responsible for overseeing all aspects of engineering projects, including the management of a team, creating a budget, designing specifications, and analyzing results. They must also have experience in business management. Engineering Managers earn an average salary of $115,176 per year and hold at least a bachelor’s degree in engineering. They typically have nearly a decade of experience in the field.

Materials Engineer, Level III
A materials engineer is responsible for improving materials and creating new ones. They typically focus on one specialized material such as plastic or steel and use their knowledge and expertise to enhance or create new materials with a unique function. These engineers earn a median salary of $86,773 and have between four and six years of experience. This is a lucrative sub-specialty of engineering and one that shows promising growth.

Petroleum Drilling Engineer, Level I
Fossil fuels run our world, and those who design systems to extract oil and gas from the earth are paid handsomely for their services. A level one Petroleum Drilling Engineer earns an average salary of $76,835 and holds a bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering. These individuals create systems that extract the most petroleum in the most cost-efficient way while adhering to the strict safety and environmental protection protocols set forth by local laws and regulations.

Chemical Engineer, Level II
A level two Chemical Engineer earns an average salary of $74,570 and holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering. They typically have five years of experience and their primary goal is to figure out how to create more of a product using the least amount of raw materials and spending the least amount of money. Chemical engineers may use nanotechnology or rely on oxidation reactions to meet their goals.

Engineering is a job for inventors and people with a good imagination. Each of the above positions in engineering requires higher education, but a bachelor’s degree and good grades are not enough to guarantee success. To take engineering job vacancies that bring in high income, one must learn many disciplines by themselves. First and foremost is a good imagination, which always needs to be trained. Second is the quality of work, i.e. implementation and the current incarnation of what was intended. And third is the love of the work. Without it, your work won’t be seen or appreciated, and you won’t get any pleasure from it.

In conclusion, engineers are the creators of our world, and their ability to incarnate their ideas into visible and tangible forms deserves respect and has a very high value. The above mentioned top paying engineering jobs in the USA require a significant investment in both physical and intellectual capacity. Therefore, get a good education, follow these guidelines, and one of the above jobs could be yours. With patience, hard work, and a passion for engineering, you can be a part of shaping the future of our world.