Also called: Firmware Engineer, Embedded Systems Engineer
Writes the software that lives inside physical things: cars, pacemakers, washing machines, drones, and smartwatches.
You flash new code onto a tiny circuit board, hook up an oscilloscope, and figure out why the motor stutters every 47 seconds. Your code has to work perfectly with very little memory and no chance to reboot.
Estimate based on BLS software developer data.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Bachelor's in computer or electrical engineering, or CS.
Ways in: 4-year college. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science.
Growing faster than average. Steady demand across automotive, medical, defense, and consumer devices.
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. AI writes more firmware code, but working with real hardware, timing and safety limits keeps embedded engineers needed.
Classes: AP Computer Science A, AP Physics, Electronics CTE.
Official data: O*NET occupation 15-1252.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.