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Petroleum engineering majors are expected to be the top-paid Class of 2016 engineering graduates at the bachelor’s degree level, according to results of NACE’s Winter 2016 Salary Survey.
Petroleum engineering majors are projected to earn an average starting salary of $89,563. (See Figure 1.) This is up from last year, when projected salaries for petroleum engineering majors reported in NACE’s Winter 2015 Salary Survey averaged $80,600.
Also expected to surpass the $65,000 mark among this year’s graduates are chemical engineering ($69,196), electrical engineering ($66,269), computer engineering ($65,606), and mechanical engineering ($65,593) majors. In all cases, these projected salaries are up from those reported in the Winter 2015 Salary Survey.
Data contained in NACE's Winter 2016 Salary Survey were obtained from August 5, 2015, through November 6, 2015. The Winter 2016 Salary Survey is available to members in MyNACE. An executive summary report is available at www.naceweb.org/salary-resources/salary-survey.aspx.
Final starting salary data for the Class of 2015 will be available in the Spring 2016 Salary Survey.
Figure 1: Projected salaries for Class of 2016 engineering majors, bachelor's degrees
| Academic Major |
Mean |
25th Percentile |
Median |
75th Percentile |
| Petroleum engineering |
$89,563 |
$81,500 |
$98,250 |
$103,500 |
| Chemical engineering |
$69,196 |
$64,000 |
$68,000 |
$73,000 |
| Electrical engineering |
$66,269 |
$63,000 |
$65,000 |
$70,000 |
| Computer engineering |
$65,606 |
$61,500 |
$65,000 |
$69,500 |
| Mechanical engineering |
$65,593 |
$61,000 |
$65,000 |
$68,500 |
| Software engineering |
$63,850 |
$58,000 |
$65,000 |
$69,000 |
| Materials engineering/science |
$63,478 |
$60,000 |
$65,000 |
$68,000 |
| Systems engineering |
$63,378 |
$60,000 |
$65,000 |
$68,000 |
| Aerospace/aeronautical engineering |
$63,117 |
$62,000 |
$64,000 |
$68,000 |
| Engineering technology |
$62,814 |
$58,000 |
$62,500 |
$67,000 |
Source: Winter 2016 Salary Survey, National Association of Colleges and Employers