Fast‑Facts Dashboard
| Metric (U.S.) |
Latest Figure* |
| National employment (2023) |
O*NET OnLine |
| Mean annual pay (May 2023) |
Bureau of Labor Statistics |
| Median pay (all post‑secondary teachers) (May 2024) |
Bureau of Labor Statistics |
| Projected growth 2023 → 2033 |
O*NET OnLine |
| Projected job openings/decade |
O*NET OnLine |
| Top‑paying state (2023) |
Bureau of Labor Statistics |
| Typical entry credential |
PhD in an engineering discipline; PE license or industry patents add heft |
A Day in the Life: From Lecture Hall to Clean Room
| Time |
Reality on Campus |
| 6 a.m. |
Review overnight ANSYS simulation; turbine‑blade von‑Mises stresses now < yield, coffee tastes sweeter. |
| 8 a.m. |
Deliver “Statics & Mechanics” lecture; live‑solve shear‑moment diagrams on a digital light‑board streamed to HyFlex students. |
| 9:30 a.m. |
Office hours: one senior tweaks PID controller gains for Baja SAE kart; another seeks advice on NSF GRFP proposal framing. |
| 11 a.m. |
Department meeting, approve hiring rubric for quantum‑information + photonics cluster; haggle over ABET data evidence. |
| 12 p.m. |
Power‑lunch while debugging ROS2 node with grad student; Slack RA about missing tensile‑test data in the ELN. |
| 1 p.m. |
Lab walk‑through: probe wafer map on new 200 mm lithography tool; remind safety eyewear compliance. |
| 2 p.m. |
NSF CAREER brainstorming: draft broader‑impacts plan partnering with local middle‑school STEM club. |
| 3 p.m. |
Faculty seminar: visiting prof presents self‑healing concrete; you challenge chloride‑ion diffusion assumptions. |
| 5 p.m. |
Grade CAD capstone designs via Onshape; embed voice‑note feedback with rubric autograder. |
| 7 p.m. |
Record TikTok micro‑lecture on Green’s Theorem applications to drone‑flight envelopes. |
| 9 p.m. |
Launch overnight COMSOL multiphysics run on HPC cluster; schedule Slack reminder to check convergence. |
Swap in sabbaticals at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab, EU Horizon‑funded micro‑fluidics residencies, or a semester designing off‑grid water pumps in rural Kenya.
Tool‑Kit & Tech Stack (2025 Edition)
| Category |
Must‑Know Gear |
| Simulation & CAD |
ANSYS, COMSOL, Abaqus, SolidWorks, Fusion 360, Onshape cloud CAD |
| Programming & Data |
Python (NumPy, SciPy, PyTorch), MATLAB, C++, ROS2, GitLab CI/CD |
| Electronics & IoT |
LabVIEW, Altium Designer, ESP32 dev boards, LoRaWAN testbeds |
| Additive & Advanced Mfg. |
Metal LPBF printers, bio‑inkjet systems, 5‑axis CNC linked to CAM in the cloud |
| Lab & Measurement |
SEM with EDS, 600 MHz NMR for materials, high‑speed digital image correlation |
| Teaching Tech |
HyFlex lecture capture, Gradescope autograder for code/CAD, VR welding simulators |
| Compliance & Safety |
IACUC (for bio‑eng), laser‑class logs, clean‑room protocols, export‑control reviews |
| Collaboration & Outreach |
Open‑source hardware repos, Kaggle course datasets, TikTok labs, NSF Research.gov dashboard |
Emerging essentials: AI co‑design agents that suggest topology‑optimized components, digital‑twin campus microgrids, and quantum‑computing SDKs (Qiskit, Cirq) for future‑proof curricula.
Core Competencies & Personality DNA
- Systems thinking: see fluid, thermal, electrical, and software interactions as one.
- Math & Simulation fluency: FEA meshes and Laplace transforms roll off the tongue.
- Grant‑writing tenacity: turn 15 % NSF success rates into funded labs via crisp broader‑impacts.
- Pedagogical agility: flip lectures, run three‑hour project studios, integrate AR circuit overlays.
- Mentorship & DEI leadership: pipeline first‑gen students into REUs; run Society of Women Engineers outreach.
- Commercialization savvy: translate lab IP into SBIR grants and start‑ups without blowing conflict‑of‑interest rules.
If your MAPP Assessment balances Investigative (problem‑solving), Enterprising (leadership, patents), and Social (mentorship) motivations, engineering academia may be your launch pad
Working Environment & Lifestyle
| Factor |
Snapshot |
| Schedule |
Lectures + lab supervision + research; 50–60 hr weeks common near grant deadlines. |
| Contract |
Nine‑month base salary; summer salary (up to 3/9ths) from grants or industry contracts. |
| Lab Culture |
Blend of PhD/postdoc mentorship, safety oversight, and Git pull‑request reviews. |
| Union Presence |
Strong in many public systems (AFT, UAW‐grad‑worker overlap), lighter in privates. |
| Industry Links |
Consulting gigs, joint research centers, sabbatical embed at national labs or start‑ups. |
Education & Credential Pathway
| Step |
Typical Timeline |
Milestones |
| B.S. in Engineering |
4 yrs |
Senior design project, FE exam, undergraduate research poster. |
| Ph.D. in Engineering |
4–6 yrs |
3–4 journal articles, teaching assistantships, patent filing. |
| Postdoc / Industry Fellowship |
1–3 yrs |
Independent funding, specialized instrumentation, early grant record. |
| Assistant Professor (tenure‑track) |
6‑yr clock |
Secure external funding, publish, advise grad students, ABET service. |
| Promotion & Tenure |
Year 6–7 |
National reputation, sustained funding, DEI & outreach impact. |
| Full Professor / Endowed Chair |
Year 12+ |
Lead multi‑PI centers, policy panels, high‑profile start‑ups. |
Community‑colleges and some teaching‑focused universities may hire M.S. + PE license instructors.
Career Ladder & Earnings
| Level |
9‑Month Base Pay* |
Common Extras |
| Lecturer / Instructor |
$55k – $80k |
Consulting, summer courses. |
| Assistant Professor |
$80k – $120k (public) • $110k – $150k (private) |
Summer salary, start‑up funds, overhead return. |
| Associate Professor |
$120k – $160k |
Larger grants, center roles, patent royalties. |
| Full Professor / Dept. Chair |
$160k – $210k + admin stipend |
Budget oversight, industry institutes. |
| Distinguished Prof. / Endowed Chair |
$210k – $275k + discretionary fund |
National academy, venture spin‑offs. |
| Chief Technology Officer / Sabbatical in Industry |
Package negotiation |
Equity, sign‑on bonuses. |
*Patent royalties, SBIR equity, textbook sales, and keynote honoraria can add $25k – $250k annually.
Wage Percentiles (May 2023 OEWS)**
| Level |
9‑Month Base Pay* |
Common Extras |
| Lecturer / Instructor |
$55k – $80k |
Consulting, summer courses. |
| Assistant Professor |
$80k – $120k (public) • $110k – $150k (private) |
Summer salary, start‑up funds, overhead return. |
| Associate Professor |
$120k – $160k |
Larger grants, center roles, patent royalties. |
| Full Professor / Dept. Chair |
$160k – $210k + admin stipend |
Budget oversight, industry institutes. |
| Distinguished Prof. / Endowed Chair |
$210k – $275k + discretionary fund |
National academy, venture spin‑offs. |
| Chief Technology Officer / Sabbatical in Industry |
Package negotiation |
Equity, sign‑on bonuses. |
*Patent royalties, SBIR equity, textbook sales, and keynote honoraria can add
$25k – $250k annually.
Wage Percentiles (May 2023 OEWS)**
| 10 % |
25 % |
50 % (median) |
75 % |
90 % |
| (data suppressed)† |
— |
$120,600 mean |
— |
— |
†BLS suppresses detailed percentiles for some small academic groups; state means show New York at $140,910 Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Trends Shaping Demand
- CHIPS & Science Act – $52 B fab investments fuel hires in semiconductor & materials engineering.
- Energy Transition – DOE Advanced Energy Manufacturing grants drive battery, hydrogen, and grid‑modernization research; professors with electrochem chops win.
- Quantum & Photonics – NSF Q‑Leap hubs spawn cluster hires in quantum info; curriculum revamps need faculty now.
- AI‑Driven Design – Generative design & digital‑twin campuses prioritize profs fluent in ML and cloud micro‑services.
- Sustainable Engineering Accreditation – ABET’s 2024 sustainability criteria create demand for LCA‑savvy faculty.
- Shortage of PhD‑Holding Engineers – Retirement wave: 32 % of tenured engineering faculty hit 65+ by 2033.
- Micro‑credential & Online MS Boom – Revenue‑sharing online programs (e.g., OMSCS model) open lecturer & course‑developer roles.
Pros & Cons
| Why Professors Thrive |
Why Some Exit |
| Autonomy to chase any gadget or algorithm. |
Grant‑writing treadmill & tenure pressure. |
| Access to multi‑million‑dollar labs and HPC clusters. |
Administrative load—ABET, safety, IRB, export control. |
| Sabbaticals at NASA, CERN, or Sandia. |
Salary lags FAANG or oil‑and‑gas engineering roles. |
| Chance to mentor first‑gen engineers, push DEI. |
60‑hr weeks, weekend fabrication‑lab crises. |
Are You Ready to Teach and Invent the Future?
- Does iterating a topology‑optimized lattice excite you more than scrolling social?
- Can you pivot from partial‑differential‑equation derivations to TikTok gearbox demos before lunch?
- Will you cheer a sophomore’s first successful solder joint as loudly as your Nature Materials paper?
- Are you resilient enough to revise an NSF proposal three times without losing throttle?
If your inner answer is “heck yes,” and your MAPP Career Assessment leans Investigative, Enterprising, and Social, an engineering professor career might be your launch pad.
Is this career path right for you? Find out Free.
- Take the MAPP Career Assessment (100% free).
- See your top career matches, including five free custom matches showing whether engineering academia aligns with your motivations.
- Receive a personalized compatibility score and step‑by‑step roadmap toward PhD programs, postdocs, and tenure‑track searches.
Start the FREE MAPP Career Assessment today, because the next generation of engineers needs a mentor like you.
