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Select an occupation below to see more details about that occupation. Select a column heading to sort the table by that column.
Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics career cluster, in The United States
| occupation | SOC code | interests | minimum education | growth outlook | current workers | salary entry | salary all |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technicians | 17-3021.00 | RIC | Associate | 0.23 | 8,700 | $39,780 | $62,260 |
| Aerospace Engineers | 17-2011.00 | IR | Bachelor | 1.04 | 71,600 | $65,310 | $103,870 |
| Agricultural and Food Science Technicians | 19-4011.00 | RIC | Associate | 0.88 | 21,900 | $22,420 | $36,150 |
| Agricultural Engineers | 17-2021.00 | IRE | Bachelor | 1.21 | 2,700 | $44,180 | $78,400 |
| Animal Scientists | 19-1011.00 | IR | Bachelor | 1.32 | 3,700 | $34,990 | $74,170 |
| Anthropologists and Archeologists | 19-3091.00 | IA | Master | 2.81 | 5,800 | $32,160 | $59,040 |
| Architectural and Civil Drafters | 17-3011.00 | RI | 1,2 year | 0.91 | 118,400 | $31,520 | $50,160 |
| Astronomers | 19-2011.00 | IAR | Doctorate | 1.6 | 1,500 | $50,440 | $101,630 |
| Atmospheric and Space Scientists | 19-2021.00 | IR | Bachelor | 1.47 | 9,400 | $47,950 | $90,860 |
| Biochemists and Biophysicists | 19-1021.00 | IAR | Doctorate | 3.74 | 23,200 | $40,810 | $87,640 |
| Biological Scientists, all other | 19-1029.00 | IR | Bachelor | 1.88 | 31,700 | $40,100 | $73,050 |
| occupation | SOC code | interests | minimum education | growth outlook | current workers | salary entry | salary all |
| Biological Technicians | 19-4021.00 | RIC | Associate | 1.76 | 79,500 | $24,940 | $42,290 |
| Biomedical Engineers | 17-2031.00 | IR | Bachelor | 7.2 | 16,000 | $51,380 | $88,360 |
| Cartographers and Photogrammetrists | 17-1021.00 | RIC | Bachelor | 2.68 | 12,300 | $34,810 | $60,110 |
| Chemical Engineers | 17-2041.00 | IR | Bachelor | -0.21 | 31,700 | $59,380 | $99,440 |
| Chemical Technicians | 19-4031.00 | IRC | Associate | -0.08 | 66,100 | $25,990 | $44,560 |
| Chemists | 19-2031.00 | IRC | Bachelor | 0.25 | 84,300 | $40,200 | $74,780 |
| Civil Engineering Technicians | 17-3022.00 | RCI | Associate | 1.69 | 91,700 | $28,960 | $48,480 |
| Civil Engineers | 17-2051.00 | RIC | Bachelor | 2.43 | 278,400 | $50,370 | $82,710 |
| Computer and Information Research Scientists | 15-1111.00 | IRC | Doctorate | * | * | $56,800 | $103,160 |
| Computer Hardware Engineers | 17-2061.00 | IRC | Bachelor | 0.38 | 74,700 | $62,400 | $101,360 |
| Drafters, all other | 17-3019.00 | * | 1,2 year | 0.23 | 21,200 | $28,830 | $48,370 |
| occupation | SOC code | interests | minimum education | growth outlook | current workers | salary entry | salary all |
| Economists | 19-3011.00 | ICE | Master | 0.58 | 14,600 | $50,120 | $100,270 |
| Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technicians | 17-3023.00 | RI | Associate | -0.22 | 164,000 | $34,020 | $57,240 |
| Electrical and Electronics Drafters | 17-3012.00 | RCI | 1,2 year | 0.08 | 33,600 | $34,080 | $57,240 |
| Electrical Engineers | 17-2071.00 | IR | Bachelor | 0.17 | 157,800 | $54,710 | $89,200 |
| Electro-Mechanical Technicians | 17-3024.00 | RIC | Associate | -0.49 | 16,400 | $33,090 | $52,870 |
| Electronics Engineers, Except Computer | 17-2072.00 | IR | Bachelor | 0.03 | 143,700 | $58,870 | $94,670 |
| Engineering Technicians, Except Drafters, all other | 17-3029.00 | RIC | Associate | 0.52 | 76,600 | $31,360 | $59,900 |
| Engineers, all other | 17-2199.00 | IR | Bachelor | 0.67 | 183,200 | $50,190 | $92,260 |
| Environmental Engineering Technicians | 17-3025.00 | RIC | Associate | 3.01 | 21,200 | $28,350 | $48,910 |
| Environmental Engineers | 17-2081.00 | IRC | Bachelor | 3.06 | 54,300 | $48,960 | $83,340 |
| Environmental Science and Protection Technicians, Including Health | 19-4091.00 | IRC | Associate | 2.89 | 35,000 | $26,720 | $45,270 |
| occupation | SOC code | interests | minimum education | growth outlook | current workers | salary entry | salary all |
| Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health | 19-2041.00 | IRC | Master | 2.79 | 85,900 | $38,090 | $68,810 |
| Food Scientists and Technologists | 19-1012.00 | IRC | Bachelor | 1.63 | 13,400 | $33,930 | $64,170 |
| Geographers | 19-3092.00 | IRA | Master | 2.62 | 1,300 | $43,140 | $74,170 |
| Geological and Petroleum Technicians | 19-4041.00 | CRI | Associate | 0.15 | 15,200 | $28,600 | $57,840 |
| Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors | 17-2111.00 | IRC | Bachelor | 1.03 | 25,700 | $44,860 | $78,540 |
| Historians | 19-3093.00 | I | Master | 1.15 | 4,100 | $26,840 | $57,610 |
| Hydrologists | 19-2043.00 | IR | Master | 1.83 | 8,100 | $48,890 | $79,070 |
| Industrial Engineering Technicians | 17-3026.00 | IRC | Associate | 0.66 | 72,600 | $32,360 | $51,850 |
| Industrial Engineers | 17-2112.00 | ICE | Bachelor | 1.42 | 214,800 | $50,350 | $79,840 |
| Life Scientists, all other | 19-1099.00 | * | Bachelor | 1.63 | 13,100 | $39,900 | $74,220 |
| Life, Physical, and Social Science Technicians, all other | 19-4099.00 | RIC | Associate | 1.33 | 64,700 | $24,880 | $45,770 |
| occupation | SOC code | interests | minimum education | growth outlook | current workers | salary entry | salary all |
| Marine Engineers and Naval Architects | 17-2121.00 | IR | Bachelor | 0.58 | 8,500 | $51,060 | $91,730 |
| Materials Engineers | 17-2131.00 | IRE | Bachelor | 0.93 | 24,400 | $52,110 | $86,790 |
| Materials Scientists | 19-2032.00 | IR | Bachelor | 1.2 | 9,700 | $45,290 | $86,600 |
| Mathematical Science Occupations, all other | 15-2099.00 | * | Master | 1.76 | 6,600 | $32,540 | $63,170 |
| Mathematical Technicians | 15-2091.00 | IRC | Bachelor | 0.85 | 1,200 | $29,660 | $50,910 |
| Mathematicians | 15-2021.00 | ICA | Master | 2.25 | 2,900 | $55,680 | $101,320 |
| Mechanical Drafters | 17-3013.00 | RCI | 1,2 year | -0.11 | 78,700 | $32,260 | $52,150 |
| Mechanical Engineering Technicians | 17-3027.00 | RI | Associate | -0.15 | 46,100 | $32,930 | $52,810 |
| Mechanical Engineers | 17-2141.00 | IRC | Bachelor | 0.6 | 238,700 | $51,340 | $83,550 |
| Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists | 19-1042.00 | IRA | Doctorate | 4.04 | 109,400 | $41,650 | $87,640 |
| Microbiologists | 19-1022.00 | IR | Doctorate | 1.22 | 16,900 | $39,380 | $71,720 |
| occupation | SOC code | interests | minimum education | growth outlook | current workers | salary entry | salary all |
| Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety Engineers | 17-2151.00 | IRE | Bachelor | 1.53 | 7,100 | $50,620 | $90,070 |
| Nuclear Engineers | 17-2161.00 | IRC | Bachelor | 1.1 | 16,900 | $67,100 | $105,160 |
| Nuclear Technicians | 19-4051.00 | RCI | Associate | 0.92 | 6,400 | $40,950 | $67,520 |
| Petroleum Engineers | 17-2171.00 | IRC | Bachelor | 1.84 | 21,900 | $69,850 | $138,980 |
| Physical Scientists, all other | 19-2099.00 | IR | Bachelor | 1.11 | 27,400 | $45,680 | $96,290 |
| Physicists | 19-2012.00 | IR | Doctorate | 1.59 | 15,600 | $58,190 | $112,090 |
| Political Scientists | 19-3094.00 | IAS | Master | 1.95 | 4,100 | $47,420 | $105,040 |
| Social Science Research Assistants | 19-4061.00 | CI | Associate | 1.78 | 21,000 | $23,170 | $42,410 |
| Social Scientists and Related Workers, all other | 19-3099.00 | IC | Master | 2.24 | 32,800 | $44,560 | $78,670 |
| Statisticians | 15-2041.00 | CI | Master | 1.31 | 22,600 | $39,840 | $77,280 |
| Surveyors | 17-1022.00 | RCI | Bachelor | 1.49 | 57,600 | $31,220 | $58,740 |
| occupation | SOC code | interests | minimum education | growth outlook | current workers | salary entry | salary all |
| Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists | 19-1023.00 | IR | Bachelor | 1.28 | 19,500 | $36,310 | $61,880 |
* data not available
Footnotes |
SOC Codes
Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system classifies all careers and assigns a unique number to each. This SOC number can be used to follow up with other career databases.
Career Interests
Interests are the likes and dislikes of people who work in each career. Matching your interests can help you find a career that will be more satisfying and rewarding for you than occupations that do not meet your interests. Knowing your work interests can help you decide what kinds of jobs and careers you want to explore.
People and work environments can be classified into these six different groups:
- Realistic - "Doers" - People who have athletic or mechanical ability, prefer to work with objects, machines, tools, plants or animals, or to be outdoors.
- Investigative - "Thinkers" - People who like to observe, learn, investigate, analyze, evaluate or solve problems.
- Artistic - "Creators" - People who have artistic, innovating or intuitional abilities and like to work in unstructured situations using their imagination and creativity.
- Social - "Helpers" - People who like to work with people to enlighten, inform, help, train, or cure them, or are skilled with words.
- Enterprising - "Persuaders" - People who like to work with people, influencing, persuading, performing, leading or managing for organizational goals or economic gain.
- Conventional - "Organizers" - People who like to work with data, have clerical or numerical ability, carry out tasks in detail or follow through on others' instructions.
Take an Career Interest Assessment to discover your interests.
Minimum Postsecondary Education Required
Minimum education is the usual minimum level of postsecondary (after high school) education required for each career.
Some careers have on-the-job training (OJT), which means that you go straight to the job and learn while you work.
- short OJT - Short on-the-job training (less than one month)
- mod. OJT - Moderate on-the-job training (1 to 12 months)
- long OJT - Long on-the-job training (more than one year). Long OJT usually includes community college or trade school courses.
Some careers require further education after high school before starting the career.
- 1,2 year - One- or two-year program at a trade school or community college
- Associate - Associate's degree - two-year degree program at a community college
- Bachelor - Bachelor's degree - four-year degree program at a college or university
- Bach+work - Bachelor's degree plus related work experience
- Master - Master's degree - two or more years after Bachelor's degree
- Doctorate - Doctorate degree - three or more years after Bachelor's degree
- Profess. - Professional degree - three or more years after Bachelor's degree
- work exp. - Work experience in a related occupation
Growth Outlook
Growth outlook is the projected growth of the number of career openings per year from 2008 to 2018. High growth means that the number of openings are increasing, so the likelihood of getting a job in this career is good. Low growth means that there may not be any openings, so the likelihood of getting a job in this career is not very good.
- low - (red color) - below average projected growth rate (less than 1% growth per year)
- moderate - (green color) - average projected growth rate (between 1 and 2.1% growth per year)
- high - (blue color) - above average projected growth rate (over 2.1% growth per year)
White background indicates that growth outlook information is not available.
Number of Current Workers
Current workers is the number of people in The United States in 2008 who were full-time and part-time employees, workers on paid vacation or other type of paid leave, workers assigned temporarily to other units and paid owners, officers and staff of incorporated firms. This excludes proprietors, owners and partners of unincorporated firms, unpaid family workers, workers on unpaid leave and contractors and temporary agency employees not on the company payroll.
Average Entry-Level Salaries
Salary entry is the estimated average salary for all entry-level (first-year) workers in this occupation in The United States in 2011. Technically it is the annual 10th percentile wage.
Salary includes straight time, gross pay, exclusive of premium pay. Base rate, cost-of-living allowances, tips, guaranteed pay, hazardous-duty pay, incentive pay, commissions, production bonuses and on-call pay are included. Excluded is back pay, jury duty pay, overtime pay, severance pay, shift differentials, non-production bonuses and tuition reimbursements.
Salaries over $187,200 are sometimes shown as >$187,200 rather than the actual salary.
Average Salaries
Salary all is the estimated average salary for all workers in this occupation in The United States in 2011. Technically it is the mean annual wage.
Salaries over $187,200 are sometimes shown as >$187,200 rather than the actual salary.
This research was compiled, analyzed, and posted by Emil Barnabas.
The data come from multiple data tables from the US Department of Labor. Blanks in this table represent missing data, some due to confidentiality because of small numbers of workers in an occupation.
Comments, suggestions, and corrections are welcome. WebGuy -at- NcCareerOutlook.com.
Brought to you by educators in the School-to-Work/Careers Section of the Association for Career and Technical Education