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Median pay
$155,020
Median annual pay for Computer Hardware Engineer.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2024
Very high pay and semiconductor/AI infrastructure tailwinds, but a much smaller labor market than software.
Very high pay and semiconductor/AI infrastructure tailwinds, but a much smaller labor market than software.
The measurable baseline is $155,020 median pay, 7.3% projected employment change from 2024 to 2034, and about 4,700 annual openings. Those figures establish the national baseline; the occupation-specific evidence on this page is what makes the decision more useful than a generic profile.
The national median-pay figure in the current ChooseField dataset is $155,020. The 2024 self-employed share is 1.1%, which matters because self-employment can make outcomes less uniform across workers. A national median is a benchmark, not a personal forecast: experience, geography, employer type, specialty, credentials, and hours can move actual compensation materially.
BLS data in the ChooseField corpus put 2024 employment at 76,800 and projected 2034 employment at 82,400. That corresponds to 7.3% projected growth over the decade. BLS projects about 4,700 openings per year, including growth and replacement demand. This distinction matters when people ask whether a field is oversaturated: growth measures whether the occupation itself is getting larger, while annual openings also reflect people retiring, changing occupations, or leaving roles that must be refilled.
BLS lists the typical entry education as Bachelor's degree. Treat this entry path like an investment: compare the time and cost required to enter with the pay, annual openings, and alternatives available at a similar training level.
Semiconductors are a major employer. The headline figure is 21.4%. Share of 2024 hardware-engineer employment in semiconductor and electronic component manufacturing. Source: CareerOneStop / BLS (2024–2034).
The current corpus does not contain a credible occupation-specific probability that AI will replace this field. It does contain a BLS outlook of 7.3% from 2024 to 2034 and about 4,700 projected annual openings. Those figures do not prove AI safety; they simply show that the official labor-market projection still anticipates ongoing employment and replacement demand.
Hardware engineering offers very high pay in a much smaller market than software. That smaller market can be attractive, but it also means industry concentration and specialization matter more than a national average alone suggests.
This field is a stronger fit if you are comfortable with a bachelor's-level technical foundation and want work centered on designing, integrating, or improving real systems.
Before choosing Computer Hardware Engineer, compare it with Software Developer, Electrical Engineer, Mechanical Engineer. The purpose is not to find a universal winner; it is to see how pay, training time, annual openings, work setting, and field-specific risks change when you move to an adjacent option.
Very high pay and semiconductor/AI infrastructure tailwinds, but a much smaller labor market than software. The measurable baseline is $155,020 median pay, 7.3% projected 2024–34 employment change, about 4,700 annual openings, and a typical entry path of Bachelor's degree.
Compare Computer Hardware Engineer with Software Developer, Electrical Engineer on pay, training time, openings, working conditions, and occupation-specific evidence rather than relying on one score.
The national median in the current ChooseField dataset is $155,020. Treat that as a benchmark rather than an expected starting salary; actual compensation varies by experience, location, employer, specialty, credentials, and hours.
The current corpus does not contain a credible occupation-specific probability that AI will replace this field. It does contain a BLS outlook of 7.3% from 2024 to 2034 and about 4,700 projected annual openings. Those figures do not prove AI safety; they simply show that the official labor-market projection still anticipates ongoing employment and replacement demand.
National pay and employment projections come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Other sources are linked on their cards.