Also called: Machinery Engineer, Turbomachinery Engineer
Specializes in the pumps, compressors, turbines and fans that spin inside refineries, power plants and chemical plants.
You stand next to a building-sized compressor with a vibration readout, figuring out whether a strange new hum is a misaligned shaft or a failing bearing. You review overhaul plans with vendors and decide whether a $3 million machine can run another year.
Estimated; oil, gas and chemical plants pay at the top.
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 mechanical engineering; many years of field experience.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Mechanical Engineering.
Growing about average. No separate BLS projection; mechanical engineers overall grow about average to faster.
Low risk for 10 years. Sensors and AI flag pump and turbine problems, but diagnosing and fixing big rotating machines takes hands-on experts.
Classes: AP Physics, AP Calculus, Shop class.
Official data: O*NET occupation 17-2141.
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.