Computer Hardware Engineer vs Electrical Engineer: Which Field Is Better?

Dimension	Computer Hardware Engineer	Electrical Engineer
Median pay	$155,020	$111,910
Projected growth (2024–34)	7.3%	7.2%
Annual openings	4,700	11,700
2024 employment	76,800	192,000
2034 projected employment	82,400	205,700
Self-employed share	1.1%	1%
Typical entry education	Bachelor's degree	Bachelor's degree
Related work experience	None	None
On-the-job training	None	None

Dimension

Computer Hardware Engineer

Electrical Engineer

Median pay

$155,020

$111,910

Projected growth (2024–34)

7.3%

7.2%

Annual openings

4,700

11,700

2024 employment

76,800

192,000

2034 projected employment

82,400

205,700

Self-employed share

1.1%

Typical entry education

Bachelor's degree

Related work experience

None

On-the-job training

None

Computer Hardware Engineer: main tradeoff

Very high pay and semiconductor/AI infrastructure tailwinds, but a much smaller labor market than software.

Electrical Engineer: main tradeoff

Strong pay, broad physical-world applications, and growth tied to power systems, semiconductors, electrification, and infrastructure.

Which should you choose?

Computer Hardware Engineer has the higher national median pay in the BLS data. Computer Hardware Engineer has the higher projected 2024–2034 growth rate. The larger decision is whether you prefer the training path, work style, and occupation-specific tradeoffs of Computer Hardware Engineer or Electrical Engineer.