Architecture and Engineering · Holland code RIC
Mechanical Engineers
Perform engineering duties in planning and designing tools, engines, machines, and other mechanically functioning equipment. Oversee installation, operation, maintenance, and repair of equipment such as centralized heat, gas, water, and steam systems.
Also called: Design Engineer, Mechanical Engineer, Product Engineer, Project Engineer, Application Engineer, Equipment Engineer, Mechanical Design Engineer, Mechanical Designer.
O*NET 17-2141.00
At a glance
- US median annual pay
- $104,110
- Middle half earn $84,130 to $132,590. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
- Most common education
- Bachelor's Degree
- 52% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
- Preparation needed
- Job Zone 4 of 5
- Considerable preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
- US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034
- +9% · Much faster than average
- 293,100 jobs in 2024, projected 319,600. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Mechanical engineers".
What the work involves
The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.
- Read and interpret blueprints, technical drawings, schematics, or computer-generated reports.
- Research, design, evaluate, install, operate, or maintain mechanical products, equipment, systems or processes to meet requirements.
- Specify system components or direct modification of products to ensure conformance with engineering design, performance specifications, or environmental regulations.
- Confer with engineers or other personnel to implement operating procedures, resolve system malfunctions, or provide technical information.
- Design integrated mechanical or alternative systems, such as mechanical cooling systems with natural ventilation systems, to improve energy efficiency.
- Calculate energy losses for buildings, using equipment such as computers, combustion analyzers, or pressure gauges.
- Investigate equipment failures or difficulties to diagnose faulty operation and recommend remedial actions.
- Recommend design modifications to eliminate machine or system malfunctions.
Skills and knowledge it leans on
Skills
- Reading Comprehension3.9 / 5
- Active Listening3.9 / 5
- Critical Thinking3.9 / 5
- Mathematics3.8 / 5
- Science3.8 / 5
- Active Learning3.5 / 5
Knowledge areas
- Design4.5 / 5
- Engineering and Technology4.5 / 5
- Production and Processing4.3 / 5
- Mechanical4.2 / 5
- English Language4.1 / 5
- Mathematics3.9 / 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.
- Realistic90
- Investigative69
- Artistic17
- Social4
- Enterprising16
- Conventional64
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)
- mechanical engineer · DE Maschinenbauingenieur/Maschinenbauingenieurin · FR ingénieur mécanicien/ingénieure mécanicienne
- mine mechanical engineer · DE Maschinenbauingenieur Bergbau/Maschinenbauingenieurin Bergbau · FR ingénieur mécanicien des mines/ingénieure mécanicienne des mines
- precision engineer · DE Ingenieur Feinwerktechnik/Ingenieurin Feinwerktechnik · FR ingénieur mécanique de précision/ingénieure mécanique de précision
- rotating equipment engineer · DE Ingenieur Rotating Equipment/Ingenieurin Rotating Equipment · FR ingénieur machines tournantes/ingénieure machines tournantes
- engine designer · DE Fahrzeug- und Motoreningenieur/Fahrzeug- und Motoreningenieurin · FR ingénieur qualité moteur/ingénieure qualité moteur
Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)
- Mechanical engineers (professional) (2122)94,400 employed
- Aerospace engineers (2126)41,700 employed
- Aircraft maintenance and related trades (5234)17,600 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.
Japan
Japan classifies jobs in its own way. The closest category that names the same work is “機械技術者”, which may be narrower or broader than this occupation.
- Median monthly pay
- ¥343,100
- Middle half earn ¥276,700 to ¥440,500 a month.
- Workers in the category
- 395,820
- Regular employees in firms of ten or more.
Scheduled monthly pay before tax, excluding overtime and bonuses, so it is not comparable to the annual figures above. Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025, via e-Stat, under the Japanese Government Standard Terms of Use. The category match was made by hand.
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.
| 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 +1.00. 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 (17-2141).
Related careers
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