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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 of America
| occupation | SOC code | interests | minimum education | current workers | growth number | growth percent | salary entry | salary all |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Computer and Information Research Scientists | 15-1111.00 | IRC | Doctorate | 25,600 | 2,700 | 1.05 | $64,950 | $116,320 |
| Biochemists and Biophysicists | 19-1021.00 | IAR | Doctorate | 34,100 | 2,800 | 0.82 | $45,000 | $94,340 |
| Microbiologists | 19-1022.00 | IR | Doctorate | 22,400 | 800 | 0.36 | $39,480 | $76,850 |
| Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists | 19-1042.00 | IRA | Doctorate | 107,900 | 8,900 | 0.82 | $44,550 | $95,000 |
| Astronomers | 19-2011.00 | IAR | Doctorate | 1,900 | 0 | 0 | $54,960 | $110,380 |
| Physicists | 19-2012.00 | IR | Doctorate | 18,100 | 1,400 | 0.77 | $57,640 | $121,770 |
| Mathematicians | 15-2021.00 | ICA | Master | 3,500 | 700 | 2 | $54,890 | $105,600 |
| Statisticians | 15-2041.00 | CI | Master | 30,000 | 10,100 | 3.37 | $46,500 | $85,160 |
| Mathematical Science Occupations, all other | 15-2099.00 | * | Master | 1,800 | 100 | 0.56 | $28,890 | $77,550 |
| Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health | 19-2041.00 | IRC | Master | 94,600 | 10,200 | 1.08 | $41,220 | $75,360 |
| Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers | 19-2042.00 | IR | Master | 36,400 | 3,800 | 1.04 | $47,450 | $106,390 |
| occupation | SOC code | interests | minimum education | current workers | growth number | growth percent | salary entry | salary all |
| Hydrologists | 19-2043.00 | IR | Master | 7,000 | 500 | 0.71 | $50,600 | $83,740 |
| Economists | 19-3011.00 | ICE | Master | 21,500 | 1,200 | 0.56 | $55,150 | $112,860 |
| Anthropologists and Archeologists | 19-3091.00 | IA | Master | 7,700 | 300 | 0.39 | $36,910 | $66,440 |
| Geographers | 19-3092.00 | IRA | Master | 1,400 | 0 | 0 | $44,680 | $74,090 |
| Historians | 19-3093.00 | I | Master | 3,500 | 0 | 0 | $28,050 | $60,990 |
| Political Scientists | 19-3094.00 | IAS | Master | 6,200 | -200 | -0.32 | $57,750 | $112,250 |
| Social Scientists and Related Workers, all other | 19-3099.00 | IC | Master | 35,600 | -700 | -0.2 | $45,420 | $80,860 |
| Mathematical Technicians | 15-2091.00 | IRC | Bachelor | 1,200 | -100 | -0.83 | $28,980 | $58,490 |
| Cartographers and Photogrammetrists | 17-1021.00 | RIC | Bachelor | 12,300 | 3,600 | 2.93 | $39,740 | $66,160 |
| Surveyors | 17-1022.00 | RCI | Bachelor | 44,300 | -900 | -0.2 | $33,630 | $63,480 |
| Aerospace Engineers | 17-2011.00 | IR | Bachelor | 72,500 | -1,700 | -0.23 | $69,150 | $112,010 |
| occupation | SOC code | interests | minimum education | current workers | growth number | growth percent | salary entry | salary all |
| Agricultural Engineers | 17-2021.00 | IRE | Bachelor | 2,900 | 100 | 0.34 | $45,510 | $77,330 |
| Biomedical Engineers | 17-2031.00 | IR | Bachelor | 22,100 | 5,100 | 2.31 | $51,050 | $89,970 |
| Chemical Engineers | 17-2041.00 | IR | Bachelor | 34,300 | 600 | 0.17 | $60,770 | $105,420 |
| Civil Engineers | 17-2051.00 | RIC | Bachelor | 281,400 | 23,600 | 0.84 | $53,470 | $89,730 |
| Computer Hardware Engineers | 17-2061.00 | IRC | Bachelor | 77,700 | 2,400 | 0.31 | $66,870 | $118,700 |
| Electrical Engineers | 17-2071.00 | IR | Bachelor | 178,400 | 1,800 | 0.1 | $59,720 | $98,620 |
| Electronics Engineers, Except Computer | 17-2072.00 | IR | Bachelor | 137,400 | -1,900 | -0.14 | $63,760 | $103,760 |
| Environmental Engineers | 17-2081.00 | IRC | Bachelor | 55,100 | 6,900 | 1.25 | $49,830 | $88,530 |
| Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors | 17-2111.00 | IRC | Bachelor | 25,200 | 1,600 | 0.63 | $50,580 | $90,190 |
| Industrial Engineers | 17-2112.00 | ICE | Bachelor | 241,100 | 2,100 | 0.09 | $54,070 | $88,530 |
| Marine Engineers and Naval Architects | 17-2121.00 | IR | Bachelor | 8,300 | 700 | 0.84 | $58,580 | $99,860 |
| occupation | SOC code | interests | minimum education | current workers | growth number | growth percent | salary entry | salary all |
| Materials Engineers | 17-2131.00 | IRE | Bachelor | 25,300 | 300 | 0.12 | $54,870 | $97,050 |
| Mechanical Engineers | 17-2141.00 | IRC | Bachelor | 277,500 | 14,600 | 0.53 | $54,420 | $89,800 |
| Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety Engineers | 17-2151.00 | IRE | Bachelor | 8,300 | 500 | 0.6 | $55,490 | $103,010 |
| Nuclear Engineers | 17-2161.00 | IRC | Bachelor | 16,800 | -600 | -0.36 | $65,570 | $105,950 |
| Petroleum Engineers | 17-2171.00 | IRC | Bachelor | 35,100 | 3,400 | 0.97 | $73,000 | $147,030 |
| Engineers, all other | 17-2199.00 | IR | Bachelor | 136,900 | 5,400 | 0.39 | $52,570 | $99,250 |
| Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists | 19-1023.00 | IR | Bachelor | 21,300 | 900 | 0.42 | $39,150 | $64,890 |
| Biological Scientists, all other | 19-1029.00 | IR | Bachelor | 36,400 | -200 | -0.05 | $42,040 | $77,830 |
| Life Scientists, all other | 19-1099.00 | * | Bachelor | 10,600 | 700 | 0.66 | $44,190 | $83,150 |
| Atmospheric and Space Scientists | 19-2021.00 | IR | Bachelor | 11,800 | 1,100 | 0.93 | $51,480 | $94,840 |
| Chemists | 19-2031.00 | IRC | Bachelor | 91,100 | 2,400 | 0.26 | $42,180 | $80,820 |
| occupation | SOC code | interests | minimum education | current workers | growth number | growth percent | salary entry | salary all |
| Materials Scientists | 19-2032.00 | IR | Bachelor | 7,300 | 200 | 0.27 | $49,890 | $101,570 |
| Physical Scientists, all other | 19-2099.00 | IR | Bachelor | 28,500 | 300 | 0.11 | $47,380 | $98,460 |
| Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technicians | 17-3021.00 | RIC | Associate | 11,400 | 400 | 0.35 | $42,830 | $71,070 |
| Civil Engineering Technicians | 17-3022.00 | RCI | Associate | 74,000 | 3,600 | 0.49 | $31,100 | $52,120 |
| Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technicians | 17-3023.00 | RI | Associate | 139,400 | -2,800 | -0.2 | $36,850 | $62,950 |
| Electro-Mechanical Technicians | 17-3024.00 | RIC | Associate | 14,700 | 100 | 0.07 | $34,820 | $57,860 |
| Environmental Engineering Technicians | 17-3025.00 | RIC | Associate | 18,600 | 1,800 | 0.97 | $29,820 | $52,500 |
| Industrial Engineering Technicians | 17-3026.00 | IRC | Associate | 66,500 | -3,000 | -0.45 | $33,520 | $56,920 |
| Mechanical Engineering Technicians | 17-3027.00 | RI | Associate | 48,400 | 900 | 0.19 | $34,030 | $57,180 |
| Engineering Technicians, Except Drafters, all other | 17-3029.00 | RIC | Associate | 70,100 | -200 | -0.03 | $34,690 | $64,050 |
| Agricultural and Food Science Technicians | 19-4011.00 | RIC | Associate | 33,000 | 1,700 | 0.52 | $23,930 | $40,470 |
| occupation | SOC code | interests | minimum education | current workers | growth number | growth percent | salary entry | salary all |
| Biological Technicians | 19-4021.00 | RIC | Associate | 79,300 | 4,200 | 0.53 | $27,660 | $46,130 |
| Chemical Technicians | 19-4031.00 | IRC | Associate | 66,500 | 1,200 | 0.18 | $27,730 | $49,770 |
| Nuclear Technicians | 19-4051.00 | RCI | Associate | 6,800 | -400 | -0.59 | $45,850 | $77,820 |
| Social Science Research Assistants | 19-4061.00 | CI | Associate | 32,000 | 1,800 | 0.56 | $22,090 | $46,820 |
| Life, Physical, and Social Science Technicians, all other | 19-4099.00 | RIC | Associate | 78,200 | 5,300 | 0.68 | $26,310 | $49,270 |
| Architectural and Civil Drafters | 17-3011.00 | RI | 1,2 year | 94,000 | -2,800 | -0.3 | $33,570 | $54,290 |
| Electrical and Electronics Drafters | 17-3012.00 | RCI | 1,2 year | 30,100 | 1,600 | 0.53 | $35,780 | $63,390 |
| Drafters, all other | 17-3019.00 | * | 1,2 year | 14,700 | -500 | -0.34 | $32,180 | $54,410 |
* 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
Number of Current Workers
Current workers is the number of people in The United States of America in 2014 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.
Growth Number
Growth number is the projected number of openings per year from 2014 to 2024. High growth means that the projected number of openings is high, so the likelihood of getting a job in this occupation is good. Low growth means that there may not be any openings, so the likelihood of getting a job in this occupation is not very good.
- low - (red color) - below average projected number of annual openings (bottom 50 percent)
- moderate - (green color) - average projected number of annual openings (second 25 percent)
- high - (blue color) - above projected number of annual openings (top 25 percent)
White background indicates that growth number information is not available.
Growth Percent
Growth percent is the projected growth of the percentage of openings per year from 2014 to 2024. High growth means that the number of openings are increasing, so the likelihood of getting a job in this occupation is good. Low growth means that there may not be any openings, so the likelihood of getting a job in this occupation 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.
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 of America in 2016. 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 $208,000 are sometimes shown as >$208,000 rather than the actual salary.
Average Salaries
Salary all is the estimated average salary for all workers in this occupation in The United States of America in 2016. Technically it is the mean annual wage.
Salaries over $208,000 are sometimes shown as >$208,000 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