Electrical engineers earn a median salary of $108,170, with entry-level positions starting at $75,000 to $85,000 and senior engineers reaching $140,000 to $200,000+ depending on specialization and location. The salary floor is high compared to most degrees, but the ceiling varies dramatically by industry. Semiconductor and Big Tech roles pay the most. Power utility and government roles pay less but offer stronger stability and benefits.
The honest version of the salary conversation for electrical engineering is more nuanced than the median number suggests. Yes, $108,170 sounds great. But whether your actual salary lands at $75,000 or $180,000 depends on three variables: your specialization, your industry, and your location. Making smart decisions about those three variables during college is worth tens of thousands of dollars per year over your career.
If you are still weighing whether the degree is worth the workload, see is an EE degree worth it. For the full range of career options, see EE career paths.
Entry-Level Salary: What to Expect Year One
The first-year salary range for EE graduates is tighter than most fields, which is good news. Unlike psychology or communications majors, where entry-level salaries can be anywhere from $35,000 to $55,000, EE graduates land in a relatively narrow band.
Test engineering and manufacturing roles start at the lower end: $70,000 to $78,000. These are common entry-level positions that serve as stepping stones to design roles. Design engineering roles at semiconductor companies and defense contractors start higher: $80,000 to $100,000. Embedded systems roles split the difference at $78,000 to $95,000.
The biggest entry-level salary determinant is whether you completed internships or co-ops. National Association of Colleges and Employers data consistently shows that engineering graduates with internship experience receive starting offers $5,000 to $12,000 higher than those without1. In EE specifically, a student who interned at Intel or Texas Instruments has a clear advantage over one who did not intern anywhere.
If you are negotiating your first EE salary offer, know that the range for your specific role is typically wider than companies present. A company offering $78,000 for a test engineer role may have budget authority up to $85,000. Research comparable offers on Levels.fyi, Glassdoor, and the IEEE salary survey before accepting. The worst case is they say no to a higher number. The best case is an extra $5,000 to $7,000 per year that compounds over your entire career.
Mid-Career Salary: Where Specialization Pays Off
The mid-career period (5 to 15 years) is where EE salaries diverge significantly based on the path you chose.
Semiconductor design engineers reach $130,000 to $180,000 in base salary at companies like Nvidia, Apple, Qualcomm, and AMD. Total compensation including stock grants and bonuses can push this to $200,000 to $280,000 at senior levels. The highest-paid EE professionals outside of management are typically senior IC designers and architects at semiconductor companies.
Power systems engineers reach $100,000 to $140,000 at utilities and engineering firms. PE-licensed engineers who stamp drawings and manage projects earn at the higher end. Power engineering salaries are lower than semiconductor roles but come with stronger job stability, predictable hours, and excellent benefits including pensions at some utilities.
RF and telecommunications engineers reach $110,000 to $150,000. RF design is a specialty where demand consistently outpaces supply because the coursework (electromagnetics, antenna theory) is among the hardest in the curriculum. This scarcity drives salaries upward.
Control systems and automation engineers reach $100,000 to $145,000 in aerospace, automotive, and manufacturing. The growth of autonomous vehicles and industrial robotics is pushing salaries higher in this specialty.
Defense electronics engineers reach $105,000 to $145,000 at major contractors, with security clearance holders commanding a premium. Defense engineers also receive strong benefits packages including retirement plans that add significant value beyond base salary.
Salary by Industry
Semiconductor manufacturing pays the highest median salaries for EE graduates. The combination of specialized skills, high capital investment per employee, and current shortage of qualified engineers drives compensation upward. Intel, TSMC, Samsung, and Nvidia compete aggressively for talent.
Oil and gas extraction pays above-average salaries for electrical engineers working on drilling operations, pipeline systems, and refinery controls. The BLS reports that electrical engineers in oil and gas earn well above the overall median, though these roles are geographically concentrated and cyclically sensitive to energy prices2.
Federal government offers competitive base salaries ($80,000 to $120,000 at GS-12 to GS-14 levels) plus benefits that add 30 to 40 percent to total compensation value. The Department of Defense, Department of Energy, and NASA are major employers. The stability and retirement benefits of federal employment partially offset the lower base salary compared to private sector3.
Electric power utilities provide stable employment with competitive salaries ($85,000 to $130,000) and often include pension benefits that are increasingly rare in other industries. Utilities also tend to have more predictable work hours than semiconductor or defense companies.
Engineering services firms (AECOM, Jacobs, Burns & McDonnell) pay slightly below direct employers ($80,000 to $115,000) but offer project variety and faster career progression. You work on multiple client projects across industries rather than a single employer's products.
The IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) conducts an annual salary survey of its members. The 2024 survey found that the median total compensation for U.S. EE professionals was approximately $150,000 when including bonuses, stock, and other compensation beyond base salary4. The BLS median of $108,170 captures base salary only, which means the true mid-career compensation picture for EE is higher than the commonly cited number.
Salary by Location
Geographic variation in EE salaries follows a predictable pattern tied to industry concentration and cost of living.
San Francisco Bay Area / Silicon Valley pays the highest EE salaries in the country. Semiconductor design roles at Apple, Nvidia, and Intel Santa Clara start at $100,000+ and reach $200,000+ at senior levels. Cost of living is extreme, but the salary premium generally exceeds the cost increase for engineers.
Austin, Texas has emerged as a major EE hub, with Tesla, Samsung, Apple, and NXP Semiconductors establishing significant operations. Starting salaries are $80,000 to $95,000, which goes further than Bay Area money because Texas has no state income tax and lower housing costs.
Seattle / Portland offer strong EE salaries driven by Amazon hardware divisions, Intel's Oregon facilities, and Boeing. Starting salaries range from $80,000 to $95,000.
Huntsville, Alabama is the defense electronics capital. Dozens of defense contractors maintain engineering centers near Redstone Arsenal. Starting salaries are $70,000 to $82,000, which provides significant purchasing power in a low-cost market.
Do not compare salaries across cities without adjusting for cost of living and state income tax. An EE earning $110,000 in Austin, Texas (no state income tax) keeps more money than one earning $130,000 in San Jose, California (state income tax up to 13.3% plus dramatically higher housing costs). Use a cost-of-living calculator to compare real purchasing power before choosing between offers.
Washington D.C. corridor (Northern Virginia, Maryland) pays well for defense and government EE roles. Starting salaries of $75,000 to $90,000 with federal benefits or defense contractor compensation packages.
What Actually Moves the Needle on Your Salary
Specialization choice is the single largest salary determinant. An EE graduate who chooses semiconductor design earns $20,000 to $40,000 more per year than one who chooses power engineering or test engineering. That gap compounds over a career.
The PE license adds $10,000 to $20,000 annually in power and construction-related engineering. It requires the FE exam, four years of supervised experience, and the PE exam. In semiconductor and software-adjacent roles, the PE license has minimal salary impact5.
A master's degree adds $10,000 to $20,000 to starting salary and opens doors to specialized design and R&D roles. Many employers fund the master's through tuition reimbursement, making the net cost zero. A master's in VLSI design, power electronics, or RF engineering provides the clearest salary benefit.
Security clearances add $5,000 to $15,000 in defense-related positions because they restrict the applicant pool. Obtaining a clearance requires U.S. citizenship and a clean background investigation. Once you have one, you become more valuable to every defense employer because they do not have to sponsor the clearance process for you.
Certifications. The FE (Fundamentals of Engineering) certification signals competence to employers across all EE subfields. The PE (Professional Engineer) license is essential for power and construction-related engineering. Cisco certifications (CCNA, CCNP) add value for telecom engineers. FPGA vendor certifications (Xilinx/AMD, Intel/Altera) demonstrate hardware design competence.
Internships and early career moves set the trajectory. EE graduates who start at top-tier companies (Intel, Nvidia, Lockheed Martin) have access to better mentoring, faster promotion, and higher subsequent offers than those who start at smaller firms. Your first job does not define your career, but it meaningfully influences your salary trajectory for the first decade.
For the complete career picture, see electrical engineering careers and the EE degree overview.
FAQ
What is the average starting salary for an electrical engineer?
Starting salaries for EE bachelor's graduates range from $70,000 to $95,000 depending on specialization, company, and location. The National Association of Colleges and Employers reports that engineering is consistently among the highest-paid entry-level fields. The median starting salary across all EE roles falls around $78,000 to $82,0001.
Can electrical engineers make six figures?
Yes, and most do by mid-career. The median salary of $108,170 means more than half of all electrical engineers earn above $100,000. Engineers in semiconductors, defense, and management roles regularly exceed $150,000. Six-figure earnings typically arrive within 3 to 7 years of graduation.
Do electrical engineers make more than mechanical engineers?
On average, yes. The BLS reports a median of $108,170 for electrical engineers versus $96,310 for mechanical engineers2. The gap is driven primarily by the semiconductor and electronics industries, which pay higher salaries than the manufacturing and automotive sectors where many mechanical engineers work.
How much does a PE license increase salary?
In power and construction-related engineering, a PE license typically adds $10,000 to $20,000 annually. In semiconductor, RF, and embedded systems roles, the PE license has minimal direct salary impact. The FE certification is more broadly useful as a signal of engineering competence.
What is the highest-paid electrical engineering job?
Senior VLSI design engineers and chip architects at companies like Nvidia, Apple, and Qualcomm earn $200,000 to $300,000+ in total compensation. Patent attorneys with EE backgrounds earn $150,000 to $250,000+. Engineering directors and VPs of engineering can exceed $300,000 at large companies.
Do electrical engineers need a master's for good salaries?
No. The majority of EE positions requiring a bachelor's degree pay $80,000 to $130,000 depending on experience. A master's adds $10,000 to $20,000 at entry level and opens specialized roles, but it is not required for a six-figure EE career.
- Electrical Engineering Degree Guide -- Overview
- Is It Worth It?
- Career Paths
- Requirements
- How Hard Is It?
- Internships
- Best Colleges
Footnotes
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National Association of Colleges and Employers. (2025). Salary Survey: First Destinations for the Class of 2024. NACE. https://www.naceweb.org/job-market/compensation/salary-survey/ ↩ ↩2
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U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2025). Occupational Outlook Handbook: Electrical and Electronics Engineers. BLS. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/electrical-and-electronics-engineers.htm ↩ ↩2
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U.S. Office of Personnel Management. (2025). 2025 General Schedule (GS) Pay Tables. OPM. https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/ ↩
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IEEE. (2024). IEEE-USA Salary & Benefits Survey Report. IEEE. https://www.ieeeusa.org/careers/salary-survey/ ↩
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National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying. (2025). About the PE Exam. NCEES. https://ncees.org/engineering/pe/ ↩