The highest paid engineering jobs

Wed 19 Jun 2019

Are you interested in studying an engineering course at university? If you’re great at problem solving, have an interest in technology, and did well in maths at school, engineering could be a great career path to pursue. As well as excellent employability, and having a chance to make a difference in the world, you’ll also earn a good salary.

Salaries in the UK, for instance, are estimated to be 18% higher for engineering and technology first degree graduates compared to other graduates in the first six months after leaving university. This makes an engineering career a smart choice for students who want to live comfortably.

Here are some of the best paid engineering jobs to inspire you:

Oil, gas and petroleum engineer

In the coming decade, petroleum engineers will be working to meet growing demand from developing countries, where urban development and increasing standards of living will lead to more consumption. Oil production is predicted to remain high for the next ten years, but could be due to peak in 2030 according to industry analysts.

Find out more about the International Year One Engineering (IY1) course at LSBU. This university has been awarded ‘University of the Year for Graduate Employment’ two years in a row.

A median salary in the UK is £53,913 per year, while the average US salary is $132,280.

Software engineer

As Industry 4.0 takes hold, the demand for computer engineers is only set to increase. According to the United States Department of Labor, the employment of software developers has a projected growth of 24% (for the years 2016-26), a faster growth average than other occupations.

Working as a software engineer requires a mixture of creativity and logic, and one of the biggest trends in the workplace today is finding software engineers with skills in cyber-security. The rise of the FinTech industry in cities like London creates huge career opportunities for international students.

Search for a cyber-security foundation course or undergraduate course in the UK, Europe or USA if this career path interests you.

A median salary in the UK is £39,155 per year, while the average US salary is $103,560.

Medical engineer

Pharmaceutical or biomedical engineering jobs are some of the most well-paid in the world. The impact of technology on medical science has been a game changer, and working in this field gives you a chance to improve the lives of patients. Some of the specialisms could be designing prosthetic limbs and artificial organs, conducting stem cell research, or developing better biological imaging devices for diagnosis.

A median salary in the UK is £50,890 per year, while the average US salary is $88,040.

Renewables and nuclear engineer

Renewables are a priority for many countries, and will continue to be so in the coming decades. As of February 2019, 194 states and the European Union have signed the Paris Agreement to tackle the problems of climate change. While the sources of energy are changing across the globe, salaries remain stable, making this one of the most lucrative engineering careers to pursue.

Other niche areas of study include nuclear engineering for industrial and medical use. But renewable energy jobs are amongst the highest paid.

The average UK salary is £52,653, while pay for nuclear engineers in the US ranges from $99,920 to $142,290 per year.

If you’re interested in a career in engineering and want to study abroad, use our course finder to search for courses in the UK, Europe and USA.