OverviewSalaryAboutEducationWhere are the jobsEmploymentGenderRace/Origin
Overview
Research, design, develop, or test computer or computer-related equipment for commercial, industrial, military, or scientific use. May supervise the manufacturing and installation of computer or computer-related equipment and components.
Highlights
Undergraduate program resulting in the highest median salary ($117K): Physics
Largest undergraduate program (19.2% of workers): Computer Science
Explore Pathways
Titles for this career often contain these words
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Responsibilities and activities
Computer hardware engineers typically do the following:
- Design new computer hardware, creating schematics of computer equipment to be built
- Test the computer hardware they design
- Analyze the test results and modify the design as needed
- Update existing computer equipment so that it will work with new software
- Oversee the manufacturing process for computer hardware
Many hardware engineers design devices used in manufactured products that incorporate processors and other computer components and that connect to the Internet. For example, many new cars, home appliances, and medical devices have Internet-ready computer systems built into them.
Computer hardware engineers ensure that computer hardware components work together with the latest software. Therefore, hardware engineers often work with software developers. For example, the hardware and software for mobile phones and other devices frequently are developed at the same time.
Salary
Median salary: $119,560 annually
Half of those employed in this career earn between $90,310 and $153,450.
Context: Median Salary
How do salaries for this career compare to other jobs' salaries?
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Salary growth for computer hardware engineers
Is this job likely to reward you for sticking with it through pay raises and promotions? The higher a job’s “experience quotient,” the more you are likely to get as you stay there.
Experience quotient percentile
Take a minute to look at how much you might expect your salary to increase with each five years' experience, as well as how the numbers working at each age change. Does this seem to be a job for the young or the old, or could it be a career offering steady salary growth for many years?
Salary distribution
Number employed
About Computer Hardware Engineers
How do benefits for this career compare to other jobs? The availability of health care, especially employer provided health care, and pension plans can add significantly to the value of compensation you receive in a career. These charts compare how this career compares to other careers with regard to health care and pension plans.
Employee has health insurance
Employer is providing health insurance
Employer-provided pension plan is available
Worker concerns
Some jobs are more stressful than others, and some are just plain dangerous. The following list gives the percentages of computer hardware engineers who report hazardous or difficult situations typically occurring at least once a week.
- Time Pressure (41%)
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Personality and skills
Can you see yourself in the ranks of Computer Hardware Engineers? Here are the skills and traits that could lead to success.
Analytical skills
Computer hardware engineers use computer programming tools to analyze the digital circuits in hardware to determine the best design.
Critical-thinking skills
These engineers use logic and reasoning to clarify goals, examine assumptions, and identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions.
Problem-solving skills
Computer hardware engineers identify complex problems in computer hardware, develop and evaluate possible solutions, and figure out the best way to implement them.
Communication skills
Engineers often work on teams and must be able to communicate with other types of engineers, software developers and programmers, as well as with nontechnical team members.
Injury and Illness
About 3 computer hardware engineers become injured or ill for every 10,000 workers, which reflects fewer events than in 58% of other careers.
All injuries and illnesses
Education pathways to this career
Education attained by computer hardware engineers
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), computer hardware engineers typically hold a bachelor's degree.
Sometimes the typical education identified by the BLS differs a bit from the reality of the how much education current workers actually have. The donut shows the education level held by people currently working as computer hardware engineers as reported in responses to the American Community Survey.
Details: Education and training recommended for computer hardware engineers
Most entry-level computer hardware engineers have a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering, although a degree in electrical engineering or computer science also is generally acceptable. A computer engineering major is similar to a major in electrical engineering but with a heavy emphasis on computer science.
Many engineering programs are accredited by ABET. Employers may prefer candidates who have graduated from an accredited program. To prepare for a major in computer or electrical engineering, students should have a solid background in math and science.
Because hardware engineers commonly work with computer software systems, a familiarity with computer programming is usually expected. This background may be obtained through computer science courses.
Some large firms or specialized jobs may require a master’s degree in computer engineering. Some experienced engineers obtain a master’s degree in business administration (MBA). All engineers must continue their learning over the course of their careers in order to keep up with rapid advances in technology.
Education level of Computer Hardware Engineers
About 77% of computer hardware engineers have at least a bachelor's degree.
Education attained by computer hardware engineers
None
High School
Some College
Associate's Degree
Bachelor's Degree
Master's Degree
Professional Degree
Doctorate
Top college degrees
Here are the top college degrees held by the 76% of people in this job who have at least a bachelor's degree. Some of degrees may link to multiple programs due to the way Census classifies college majors. Click on a program to learn more about career opportunities for people who major in that field.
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College majors held by computer hardware engineers
This table shows the college majors held by people working as computer hardware engineers. If you see "**" before the name of a degree/program, that means this field is one that the Department of Education believes is preparatory for this career. However, you can see from this list that those recommendations are far from your only path to this job!
Major
Select any title to learn more about that degree
Salary comparison for bachelor's only
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Career salary (tail) versus Career/Major salary (dot)
Does the bachelor's-only salary rise or fall with this major?
Salary for bachelor's-only
For people with this career and major
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Salary for all workers
For people with this career and major
Median
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Middle 80%
Education for Career and Major
Bachelor's
Master's
Professional
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Workers with this career/major
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The link between degrees and this career
With the following sankey diagram, you can follow the top ten bachelor's degrees held by people working as computer hardware engineers, and then, in turn, you can see the 10 occupations that hire the most of each degree's graduates. We hope this provides ideas for similar jobs and similar fields of study.
Expand degrees
Where are the jobs
State-by-state employment numbers
Some careers tend to be centered in specific parts of the country. For example, most jobs in fashion are in New York or California. Let's see if your dream job is easy to find in your dream location! We have a few choices for viewing the data that can help you get a full employment picture.
Select a state to see local area details
Number of Computer Hardware Engineers per 1,000 workers (ACS)
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Job density versus job count
Which states hire the most computer hardware engineers? We wonder if that's a fair question since states come in all sizes, so instead let's start with the question of which states have the highest density of people working as computer hardware engineers. You can choose to view the number of jobs per state if you prefer.
Salaries by state
Let's get a feel for where computer hardware engineers earn the highest salaries. There are several choices for which data we consider and how we view that data, and each can lead to different conclusions, so please read on...
Median salary versus state ratio
We use two methods to compare salaries across states:
- In-state comparisons: the ratio of median (middle) salaries for computer hardware engineers compared to the median salary for all people working in each state, or
- Median salary: the unaltered median salaries for computer hardware engineers.
The darkest shading corresponds to states in which computer hardware engineers earn the highest salary when compared to other jobs in the state. We think this figure might be a better indicator than the actual salary for your buying power as a state resident.
Select a state to see local area details
Location-adjusted median salary for Computer Hardware Engineers (ACS)
Employment
4% of Computer hardware engineers are working part time.
We’ve found that some jobs have a huge number of part-time workers, and typically that is because they are unable to find full-time work or the job itself can’t provide full-time hours. With 4% part-time workers, this occupation has a lower percentage of part-time workers than 83% of careers.
Employer types
This donut shares the break-down of workers by employer type, giving us a picture of what employers most typically hire for this career.
Employers of undefined (ACS)
Private for-profit
Private not-for-profit
Local government
State government
Federal government
Self-employed incorporated
Self-employed not incorporated
Working without pay
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Distribution: Salaries of computer hardware engineers by type of employer
Here are the salary distributions based on employer type.
Gender
Computer hardware engineers and gender
With 15% women, this occupation has a lower percentage of women than 72% of careers.
Gender of Computer hardware engineers
Men (85%)
Women (15%)
Distribution: salaries by gender
Does gender greatly influence your salary in this career? The closer the bars are, the less discrepancy there is.
We only include salary data when the survey error is less than 20%, so you may see only partial information for some categories.
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Context: Women in the workforce
How does this career compare to other careers with regard to the percentage of women in the career.
Context: Salary inequity
The median salary for all full-time male workers in the
US exceeds the full-time median salary for women
by 19%. The situation is
better for computer hardware engineers, with the median salary for men
only 3.7% higher than
the median salary for women.
Race/Origin
Race and origin of Computer hardware engineers
This donut shows the distribution of race and origin among those employed as Computer hardware engineers.
Race/origin of computer hardware engineers
White (58% )
Asian (30% )
Black (8% )
Multiracial (2% )
Other (1% )
American Indian (0% )
Hispanic (0% )
Pacific Islander (0% )
Distribution: salaries by race/origin
Some careers might have a pay disparity based on race or origin, the closer the below bars are the less of a discrepancy is present.
We only include salary data when the survey error is less than 20%, so you may see only partial information for some categories.
