When it Comes to Engineers, Demand Exceeds Supply

There are currently 4.83 million people working in the U.S. engineering sector. And mechanical engineers comprise one of the largest engineering segments at 208,907, or about 4.33 percent of that total. Year over year, this sector is growing at only 3.48 percent. But with an average employee age of 43, just over the horizon is a cohort of engineers getting ready to retire. The story is the same in manufacturing, with a little over 240,000 manufacturing engineers currently employed in the U.S. And of that population, the average age is 42 years old.

One population that can help with the talent shortage looming on the horizon is decidedly female. But a gender disparity remains in STEM fields. Women may make up 34 percent of the workforce, but within engineering, the gap is more pronounced. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, women made up roughly 17.2 percent of engineers and architects in 2024.

Overall, this information reveals that this workforce is growing slowly but also increasingly aging. And while female employee numbers are growing, there’s still room for a tremendous amount of growth in that area. The other factor is the need for elementary and middle school educators to focus on STEM programs. But keeping students excited through high school and exposing them to scientific opportunity remains an industry challenge. 

New workforce

Across all sectors, there will be an estimated 1.86 million employed engineers by 2032, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Given this situation, the story for those engineers just starting their careers is good. According to an RS study, there has been a 48 percent increase in the number of students gaining bachelor’s degrees in engineering since 2000. Currently there are about 141,000 engineering graduates in the U.S. each year. Mechanical engineering represents the biggest cohort of graduates—around 25 percent of all engineering-related bachelor’s degrees awarded, or about 35,000 individuals.

Moreover, universities are awarding about 50,000 master’s degrees and 12,000 doctorates each year. Historically, the biggest year-on-year increase in engineering graduates is behind us. The year between 1985 and 1986 saw an increase of 10 percent in engineering graduates. The next was between 2019 and 2020 (7.3 percent) and finally between 2020 and 2021 (7 percent). Typically, though, the growth has been just steady at a 6 percent annual increase in engineering graduates since the 1970s.

Around 25 percent of engineering bachelor’s degree students in the U.S. are female, reported RS. Therefore, there is somewhat of an answer to the challenge there. But this number also increases slowly but steadily. For example, in 1950 the percentage of female engineering students was just 0.3 percent. Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta and Northeastern University in Boston have the highest percentage of female engineering students (34 percent).

Engineering salaries

There are currently more than 920,000 engineering roles open in the U.S., with more than 61,000 alone looking for mechanical engineers. Experts that have examined the data also suggest the data points to a maximum of 15 percent of open roles that could be filled by new talent per year. This, of course, leaves a massive 85 percent (825,000) employee deficit. This figure, specialists point out, despite this substantial number, doesn’t account for people retiring.

Jim Davis, Director of Technical Solutions at RS, reported that his company’s clients in the industrial manufacturing, automation, and electronics sectors are reporting resource shortages in two key places. There are general staff shortages. This has the impact of not always being able to finish projects on time. The second, and more important item, is a deficiency of skilled talent.

“While there is no overnight solution for these challenges, we’ve encouraged our clients to seek out opportunities to advance their manufacturing engineering processes to help ease their resourcing pressure points. The growth of digital factories creates potential to both improve processes and to broaden the range of skills required from the industrial sector workforce. Engineers with skills such as electrical control, software development, networking, and mechanical design are in especially high demand.”

Mechanical and manufacturing remain highly sought-after engineers, each accounting for nearly 10 percent of the advertised open engineering roles. Graduates with majors in mechanical engineering are higher in volume than other engineering specialties—representing 25 percent of all engineering graduates. Yet, the volume of new talent coming through is less than a quarter of those sought by businesses. Finally, more than 6,800 roles are specifically advertised as new graduate hires for engineers, with those specifically targeting new mechanical looking at a starting median salary of about $72,000.

Cathy Cecere is membership content program manager.