Education, Training, and Library · Holland code SIR

Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary

Teach courses pertaining to the application of physical laws and principles of engineering for the development of machines, materials, instruments, processes, and services. Includes teachers of subjects such as chemical, civil, electrical, industrial, mechanical, mineral, and petroleum engineering. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.

Also called: Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Instructor, Professor, Chemical Engineering Professor, Electrical Engineering Professor, Engineering Instructor, Engineering Professor.

O*NET 25-1032.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $109,270; Middle half earn $81,570 to $150,860. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Doctoral Degree; 59% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 5 of 5; Extensive preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in professional journals, books, or electronic media.
Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.
Evaluate and grade students' class work, laboratory work, assignments, and papers.
Write grant proposals to procure external research funding.
Supervise undergraduate or graduate teaching, internship, and research work.
Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences.
Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as mechanics, hydraulics, and robotics.
Initiate, facilitate, and moderate class discussions.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Speaking4.1 / 5
Learning Strategies4.1 / 5
Reading Comprehension4.0 / 5
Active Listening4.0 / 5
Writing3.9 / 5
Mathematics3.9 / 5

Knowledge areas

Engineering and Technology5.0 / 5
Design4.6 / 5
Computers and Electronics4.5 / 5
Mathematics4.5 / 5
English Language4.4 / 5
Physics4.2 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic64
Investigative73
Artistic36
Social80
Enterprising17
Conventional41

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

engineering lecturer · DE Hochschullehrkraft für Ingenieurwesen · FR enseignant-chercheur en ingénierie/enseignante-chercheuse en ingénierie
chemistry lecturer · DE Hochschullehrkraft für Chemie · FR enseignant-chercheur en chimie/enseignante-chercheuse en chimie
vocational teacher · DE Lehrkraft im Bereich Berufsbildung · FR professeur d’enseignement professionnel/professeure d’enseignement professionnel
electricity and energy vocational teacher · DE Lehrkraft für Elektrotechnik und Energietechnik · FR professeur en génie électrique et énergétique de la voie professionnelle/professeure en génie électrique et énergétique de la voie professionnelle
electronics and automation vocational teacher · DE Lehrkraft für Elektronik und Automation · FR professeur en électronique et automatique de la voie professionnelle/professeure en électronique et automatique de la voie professionnelle
industrial arts vocational teacher · DE Lehrkraft für industriell gefertigte Kunst · FR professeur d’arts industriels/professeure d’arts industriels

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Secondary education teaching professionals (2313)504,100 employed
Higher education teaching professionals (2311)258,500 employed
Further education teaching professionals (2312)59,800 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€61,714
Germany	€59,529
Ireland	€56,877
Austria	€55,374
Netherlands	€53,595
Sweden	€43,567
France	€41,515
Spain	€35,735
Italy	€33,649
Portugal	€26,072
Poland	€14,380

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the higher third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +1.35. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (25-1032).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test