CCollegeMatcher

Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary

US occupation · SOC 25-1032

Job titles people report: Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Chemical Engineering Professor, Electrical Engineering Professor, Engineering Instructor, Engineering Professor, Environmental Engineering Professor, Instructor, Mechanical Engineering Professor, Professor

Pay and outlook

Median annual wage, May 2025
$109,270
Half earn more, half earn less
Middle half earn
$81,570 – $150,860
25th to 75th percentile
People employed, May 2025
40,270
Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)
Projected change, 2025–35
+7.8%
Growing at twice the all-jobs rate or more (7%+)
Openings a year (projected)
3,900
New jobs plus replacing people who leave
Typical education to enter
Doctoral or professional 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

Teach courses pertaining to the application of physical laws and principles of engineering for the development of machines, materials, instruments, processes, and services. Includes teachers of subjects such as chemical, civil, electrical, industrial, mechanical, mineral, and petroleum engineering. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.

Main tasks

  • Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in professional journals, books, or electronic media.
  • Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.
  • Evaluate and grade students' class work, laboratory work, assignments, and papers.
  • Write grant proposals to procure external research funding.
  • Supervise undergraduate or graduate teaching, internship, and research work.
  • Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences.
  • Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as mechanics, hydraulics, and robotics.
  • Initiate, facilitate, and moderate class discussions.

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

Getting in

Typical education to enter (BLS)
Doctoral or professional degree
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.

  • Social: helping, teaching and caring for people
  • Investigative: research, analysis and solving problems with ideas
  • Realistic: hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals

Fields of study that lead here

From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 61 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.

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
50 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
  • Operations Research
  • 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.

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 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