CCollegeMatcher

Architectural and Engineering Managers

US occupation · SOC 11-9041

Job titles people report: Civil Engineering Manager, Electrical Engineering Manager, Engineering Director, Engineering Group Manager, Engineering Program Manager, Mechanical Engineering Manager, Process Engineering Manager, Project Engineering Manager, Project Manager

Pay and outlook

Median annual wage, May 2025
$171,270
Half earn more, half earn less
Middle half earn
$139,360 – $212,500
25th to 75th percentile
People employed, May 2025
220,260
Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)
Projected change, 2025–35
+5.5%
At or above the all-jobs rate (3.5% to under 7%)
Openings a year (projected)
14,900
New jobs plus replacing people who leave
Typical education to enter
Bachelor's degree
BLS
  • All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
  • Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
  • Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.

What the work involves

Plan, direct, or coordinate activities in such fields as architecture and engineering or research and development in these fields.

Main tasks

  • Manage the coordination and overall integration of technical activities in architecture or engineering projects.
  • Direct, review, or approve project design changes.
  • Consult or negotiate with clients to prepare project specifications.
  • Prepare budgets, bids, or contracts.
  • Present and explain proposals, reports, or findings to clients.
  • Confer with management, production, or marketing staff to discuss project specifications or procedures.
  • Assess project feasibility by analyzing technology, resource needs, or market demand.
  • Review, recommend, or approve contracts or cost estimates.

More specific O*NET® occupations under this one: Biofuels/Biodiesel Technology and Product Development Managers.

Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.

Getting in

Typical education to enter (BLS)
Bachelor's degree
Work experience in a related job: 5 years or more
O*NET Job Zone 5
Extensive preparation
Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).

Interests it suits

The strongest of the six O*NET interest types for this occupation, highest first. The short glosses are ours.

  • Enterprising: leading, persuading and making business decisions
  • Investigative: research, analysis and solving problems with ideas
  • Conventional: organising information, records and procedures

Fields of study that lead here

From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 70 programmes to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.

Business

  • Science/Technology Management

Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Business at the Major step.

Where many students take business

Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.

Engineering

  • Engineering, General
  • Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering, General
  • Astronautical Engineering
  • Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering, Other
  • Agricultural Engineering
  • Architectural Engineering
  • Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering
  • Ceramic Sciences and Engineering
49 more programmes
  • Chemical Engineering
  • Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
  • Chemical Engineering, Other
  • Civil Engineering, General
  • Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
  • Structural Engineering
  • Transportation and Highway Engineering
  • Water Resources Engineering
  • Civil Engineering, Other
  • Computer Engineering, General
  • Computer Hardware Engineering
  • Computer Software Engineering
  • Computer Engineering, Other
  • Electrical and Electronics Engineering
  • Laser and Optical Engineering
  • Telecommunications Engineering
  • Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering, Other
  • Engineering Mechanics
  • Engineering Physics/Applied Physics
  • Engineering Science
  • Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering
  • Materials Engineering
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Metallurgical Engineering
  • Mining and Mineral Engineering
  • Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering
  • Nuclear Engineering
  • Ocean Engineering
  • Petroleum Engineering
  • Systems Engineering
  • Textile Sciences and Engineering
  • Polymer/Plastics Engineering
  • Construction Engineering
  • Forest Engineering
  • Industrial Engineering
  • Manufacturing Engineering
  • Surveying Engineering
  • Geological/Geophysical Engineering
  • Paper Science and Engineering
  • Electromechanical Engineering
  • Mechatronics, Robotics, and Automation Engineering
  • Biochemical Engineering
  • Engineering Chemistry
  • Biological/Biosystems Engineering
  • Electrical and Computer Engineering
  • Energy Systems Engineering, General
  • Power Plant Engineering
  • Energy Systems Engineering, Other
  • Engineering, Other

Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Engineering at the Major step.

Where many students take engineering

Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.

Physics & Chemistry

  • Materials Science

Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Physics & Chemistry at the Major step.

Where many students take physics & chemistry

Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.

Architecture

  • Architecture
  • Architectural Design
  • City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning
  • Environmental Design/Architecture
  • Healthcare Environment Design/Architecture
  • Interior Architecture
  • Landscape Architecture
  • Architectural and Building Sciences/Technology

Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Architecture at the Major step.

Where many students take architecture

Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.

Other fields

Our college matcher doesn't offer this field as a major, so we can't suggest colleges for it here.

Engineering/Engineering-Related Technologies/Technicians

  • Engineering/Industrial Management
  • Engineering Design
  • Packaging Science

Related careers

Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.

← All careers

Sources

This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. CollegeMatcher has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET 31.0 Database · CC BY 4.0

Changes: we show the core tasks in the O*NET database with the highest importance ratings (up to eight, in that order), the top three O*NET interest types by score, and shortened Job Zone names. Titles, descriptions and task text are unchanged.

Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Projections, typical entry education and training: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–35. Fields of study: NCES and BLS CIP 2020–SOC 2018 Crosswalk. All public domain. OEWS · Employment Projections · CIP–SOC crosswalk