Mechanical Engineer
| Median wage (USD) | 104110 |
|---|---|
| Projected employment growth (%) | 11 |
| AI exposure (%) | 19 |
| Maximum exposure (%) | 56 |
| Source | eloundou |
| What AI changes in this occupation | Reading and interpreting blueprints, technical drawings, schematics or computer-generated reports (83 out of 100), calculating energy losses for buildings with computers, combustion analyzers or pressure gauges (71), researching and analysing customer design proposals, specifications, manuals or other data to evaluate feasibility, cost or maintenance requirements (65), assisting drafters in developing the structural design of products with drafting tools or computer-assisted drafting software (62), writing performance requirements for product development or engineering projects (57) and estimating costs or submitting bids for engineering, construction or extraction projects (55) are the O*NET profile's six most delegable tasks, and six tasks of reading, computation, documentation and pricing. Work activities confirm it: drafting, laying out and specifying technical devices, parts and equipment (96 out of 100), working with computers (93), making decisions and solving problems (89), getting information (85), documenting and recording information (74), interpreting the meaning of information for others (72), analysing data (69) and processing information (62). BLS describes the gesture itself: "Computer technology helps mechanical engineers create and analyze designs, run simulations and test how a machine is likely to work, interact with connected systems, and generate specifications for parts". BLS puts the median wage for mechanical engineers at $104,110 in May 2025 ($50.05 an hour) — under $73,990 for the lowest 10%, over $164,340 for the highest 10% — against $108,620 for engineers as a group and $50,980 for all workers. The best-paying industries are scientific research and development services ($132,040), computer and electronic product manufacturing ($106,870), transportation equipment manufacturing ($105,560), architectural, engineering and related services ($103,440) and machinery manufacturing ($98,620). The projection is +11% between 2025 and 2035 — "much faster than average" at 3% — taking employment to 332,000 in 2035 (+33,500 on 298,500 in 2025), with about 17,800 openings a year, mostly replacing workers who leave. BLS ties that growth explicitly to automation: as manufacturing processes incorporate more complex automation machinery, mechanical engineers are needed to integrate that equipment into existing systems. Entry is gated by the degree — a bachelor's in mechanical engineering or mechanical engineering technology, with no related work experience and no on-the-job training according to BLS — and a Professional Engineering (PE) licence becomes necessary to provide services directly to the public: an accredited degree, the Fundamentals of Engineering exam, at least four years of relevant practice and the Principles and Practice exam. O*NET places the profile in Job Zone Four — considerable preparation — and 93% of respondents report a regular work schedule. Design and accountability remain human: researching, designing, evaluating, installing, operating or maintaining mechanical products, equipment, systems or processes to meet requirements (80 out of 100), specifying system components or directing the modification of products to ensure conformity with design, performance or environmental regulations (79), investigating equipment failures or difficulties to diagnose faulty operation and recommend remedial action (69), directing the installation, operation, maintenance or repair of renewable energy equipment (63), overseeing installation, operation, maintenance or repair so that machines function according to specifications (62) and evaluating mechanical designs or prototypes for energy performance or environmental impact (61) are the tasks the Eloundou study leaves untouched, up to 56% of the occupation at most. The working pattern confirms it: 100% of O*NET respondents use e-mail daily, 74% are in constant contact with others, 69% work indoors in an environmentally controlled setting, 39% rate accuracy as extremely important and 56% as "very important", 50% have a lot of decision-making freedom, 45% work more than 40 hours a week, 50% carry very high responsibility for the work results of others and 20% consider that a mistake not easily corrected would have extremely serious consequences. The top-rated skills are active listening, critical thinking and reading comprehension (72), then complex problem solving, judgment and decision making, mathematics and science (69). 21% of respondents rate the job "moderately automated", 29% "slightly automated" and 40% "not at all automated". |
| Key skills | Mechanical design: mechanics of materials, solid and fluid mechanics, thermodynamics and heat transfer, kinematics and dynamics of machinery, sizing of parts and mechanisms, tolerancing and geometric dimensioning (GD&T) · digital tools: CAD (SolidWorks, CATIA, Creo, AutoCAD), finite element analysis (ANSYS, Abaqus), computational fluid dynamics (CFD), kinematic and dynamic simulation (ADAMS), product lifecycle management (PLM), 3D printing and rapid prototyping · materials and manufacturing: metals, polymers, composites, ceramics, machining, moulding and assembly, quality control, testing and instrumentation · energy and environment: energy efficiency, heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, renewable energy, life-cycle analysis, environmental compliance · project management: cost estimating, tendering, schedules, requirements management, technical documentation and specifications · safety and regulation: applicable standards, codes and regulations, machine safety, conformity files · communication: active listening, drafting reports and calculation notes, presenting to clients and teams, dealing with suppliers · professional practice: Professional Engineering (PE) licence, professional conduct, liability, intellectual property · generative AI tools for design options, simulations, calculation notes and specification drafting |
| Courses to get ahead | Materials Science: 10 Things Every Engineer Should Know · Coursera (University of California, Davis) · ≈ 9 hours of workload · 88 · Two opposite tasks are worked on together here: specifying system components or directing the modification of products to ensure conformity with design, performance and environmental regulations (79 out of 100), and investigating equipment failures to diagnose faulty operation (69). Choosing a material is a trade-off — strength, mass, temperature resistance, cost, availability — that the course works through mechanical and electrical properties and manufacturing principles rather than through a catalogue. That is what lets an engineer settle a design file when a model proposes a plausible variant, and reject a specification that nothing supports. Introduction to Engineering Mechanics · Coursera (Georgia Institute of Technology) · ≈ 2 weeks · 87 · Computation is the heart of the tasks AI takes over: energy losses (71 out of 100) and the analysis of design proposals (65) rest on equilibria that the course establishes — forces, moments, centres of gravity, statically determinate and indeterminate structures. BLS ties computer-aided design to the creation of detailed project plans and to simulations; being able to set up and check an equilibrium yourself is what lets you verify a software result instead of trusting it, on parts where failure is expensive — 20% of O*NET respondents consider that a mistake not easily corrected would have extremely serious consequences. Digital Manufacturing & Design · Coursera (University at Buffalo) · ≈ 10 hours of workload · 86 · Assisting drafters in developing the structural design of products with computer-assisted drafting tools (62 out of 100) and directing the installation, operation or maintenance of equipment, including renewable energy equipment (63), are the two ends of one chain: the digital model and the shop floor. The course works through exactly the shift BLS describes — from paper-based processes to digital design and manufacturing processes — and what it changes in careers, practices and processes in companies both large and small. This is where BLS sees demand rising: "As manufacturing processes incorporate more complex automation machinery, mechanical engineers are expected to be needed to help integrate this equipment into existing systems". Introduction to Thermodynamics: Transferring Energy from Here to There · Coursera (University of Michigan) · ≈ 2 weeks · 84 AI For Everyone · Coursera (DeepLearning.AI) · ≈ 7 hours of workload · 83 Prompt Engineering for ChatGPT · Coursera (Vanderbilt University) · ≈ 2 weeks · 81 |
| Occupations to pivot toward | Materials Engineer · 112860 · 8 · 32 Industrial Engineer · 102440 · 12 · 61 Sales Engineer · 124900 · 3 · 53 |
| Skills to acquire for the pivot | Eloundou measures the mechanical engineer's exposure at 19% (human β) and up to 56% (human ζ): reading and interpreting blueprints, technical drawings and schematics (83 out of 100), calculating energy losses (71), analysing customer design proposals and manuals (65), assisting drafters with CAD tools (62), writing performance requirements (57) and estimating costs and bids (55) are the O*NET profile's most directly delegable tasks, while researching, designing, evaluating, installing and maintaining products and systems (80), specifying components in conformity with design, performance and regulation (79), diagnosing failures (69), directing installation, operation and maintenance of equipment (63 and 62) and evaluating the energy performance of designs (61) remain human. Within the repository, 19 puts the mechanical engineer 82nd of the one hundred and two occupations: eighty-one occupations have a higher exposure — from the translator (84) to the waiter (22) —, two are tied with it (the order picker and the respiratory therapist, 19) and eighteen have a lower one, the nearest being the truck driver (17). Its ζ of 56 places it 61st: sixty occupations have a higher ζ — from the writer and author (100) to the tutor (57) —, one is tied with it (the nurse practitioner, 56) and forty have a lower one, the nearest being the physical therapist (55). The SOC code used is 17-2141.00 "Mechanical Engineers": it is confirmed by the occupation's O*NET profile — exact code and title, updated 2026, Bright Outlook flag, Job Zone Four —, by the BLS projections table, which carries the line "Mechanical engineers" under code 17-2141 (298,500 jobs in 2025, 332,000 in 2035), and by the Eloundou dataset, which carries a line titled exactly "Mechanical Engineers" under that code; O*NET files under it the reported titles "Application Engineer", "Design Engineer", "Equipment Engineer", "Product Development Engineer" and "Test Engineer", and keeps 17-2141.01 (Fuel Cell Engineers) and 17-2141.02 (Automotive Engineers) separate. BLS puts the median wage for mechanical engineers at $104,110 in May 2025 ($50.05 an hour), against $108,620 for engineers as a group and $50,980 for all workers; the lowest 10% earn less than $73,990 and the highest 10% more than $164,340. The projection is +11% between 2025 and 2035, "much faster than average" at 3%: 298,500 jobs in 2025 are projected to reach 332,000 in 2035 (+33,500), with about 17,800 openings a year, mostly replacing workers who leave. BLS ties that growth to the automation of manufacturing processes, which calls for engineers to integrate automated machinery into existing systems. Entry is gated by the degree — a bachelor's in mechanical engineering or mechanical engineering technology, with no related experience and no on-the-job training —, and a Professional Engineering (PE) licence becomes necessary to serve the public: an accredited degree, the Fundamentals of Engineering exam, at least four years of supervised practice and the Principles and Practice exam; O*NET places the profile in Job Zone Four. The working setting is mostly the office: 100% of respondents use e-mail daily, 93% work with computers, 69% work indoors in an environmentally controlled setting, 74% are in constant contact with others, 39% rate accuracy as extremely important, 50% have a lot of decision-making freedom and 45% work more than 40 hours a week; 21% of respondents rate the job "moderately automated", 29% "slightly automated" and 40% "not at all automated". This card's three pivots are neighbouring occupations documented by BLS: the materials engineer ($112,860, +8% between 2025 and 2035, human β 32) and the sales engineer ($124,900, +3%, human β 53) appear in the similar-occupations table on the mechanical engineer's OOH page, and the industrial engineer ($102,440, +12%, human β 61) — whose typical degree BLS describes as "a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering or a related field, such as mechanical or electrical engineering" — appears among the related occupations on the O*NET profile. The median salary shown is $104,110 a year, or $50.05 an hour according to the May 2025 BLS profile. In the repository of one hundred and two occupations it ranks 24th: twenty-three occupations pay more, from the physician ($239,200) to the software tester ($104,300), and the mechanical engineer is ahead of the research scientist ($103,410), the project manager ($102,320) and the financial analyst ($101,350), while the repository's median salary is $76,490 — the mechanical engineer sits 36% above it. The +11% growth is well above the repository median (4%): twelve occupations grow faster, from the nurse practitioner (40%) to the labour inspector (12%), two at the same rate (the psychologist and the taxi and rideshare driver, 11%) and eighty-seven more slowly. The gap with neighbouring occupations is a matter of specialisation: the materials engineer pays 8% more and grows +8%, the sales engineer 20% more but grows only +3%, while the industrial engineer pays 1.6% less and grows +12%. Progression runs through the PE licence — only a licensed engineer signs the plans and serves the public —, through command of simulation and product data management (PLM), and through specialisation (materials, energy and HVAC, robotics, automotive, aeronautics), which AI-assisted documentation does not replace. Every value on this card comes from a named source; only the task shares, derived from O*NET importance scores, and the course scores and durations are editorial estimates, documented in _ponderation. |
| GPT-4 exposure — beta / zeta (%) | 45 · 88 |