The Bureau of Labor Statistics refreshed its Occupational Outlook Handbook in late August 2026 with employment projections covering 2025 to 2035. For students weighing STEM careers, and for advisers and faculty who talk with them about where a degree leads, the handbook profiles of five engineering and computing occupations lay out projected growth, expected openings, pay and the usual route into each field. This guide summarizes those figures as BLS publishes them.

Five occupations side by side

All figures come from the handbook. Pay is the May 2025 median annual wage, job counts are 2025 employment, and growth and openings cover the 2025 to 2035 decade. For comparison, BLS lists 3 percent as the average projected growth for all occupations.

  • Civil engineers: median pay of $100,840; 380,600 jobs; projected growth of 6 percent, or about 24,500 jobs; about 22,700 openings a year.
  • Electrical and electronics engineers: median pay of $125,040 for the combined group ($120,630 for electrical engineers and $130,220 for electronics engineers outside computer work); 297,900 jobs; projected growth of 8 percent, or about 23,400 jobs, of which about 19,800 are electrical; about 16,300 openings a year.
  • Mechanical engineers: median pay of $104,110; 298,500 jobs; projected growth of 11 percent, or about 33,500 jobs; about 17,800 openings a year.
  • Software developers: median pay of $135,980; 1,717,800 jobs; projected growth of 10 percent, or about 174,700 jobs. BLS reports openings for the broader group that adds quality assurance analysts and testers: about 106,100 a year.
  • Information security analysts: median pay of $129,180; 192,900 jobs; projected growth of 21 percent, or about 40,600 jobs; about 14,100 openings a year.

Reading growth against openings

In every case, the number of openings each year is far larger than the net number of jobs added over the decade divided by ten. BLS explains that most openings come from the need to replace workers who move into other occupations or leave the labor force, not from newly created positions. Civil engineering, for example, is projected to add about 2,450 jobs a year on net while producing about 22,700 openings a year.

Rate and size tell different stories. Information security analysts have the fastest projected growth of the five, about seven times the all-occupation average. Software developers add the most jobs in absolute terms because the occupation is by far the largest. Among the engineering fields, mechanical engineering is projected to grow fastest, and BLS describes both mechanical and electrical engineering as growing much faster than average while civil engineering is listed as faster than average.

How people enter these fields

A bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education for all five. The handbook names a degree in the relevant engineering discipline for the engineering occupations, and mechanical engineers can also come from mechanical engineering technology programs. Software developers typically hold a degree in computer and information technology or a related field, and BLS notes that some employers prefer a master's degree.

Information security analysts follow a slightly different path. The handbook lists a bachelor's degree in computer science or a related field such as engineering or math, plus less than five years of experience in a related occupation, and it says many analysts first work in IT departments, often as network and computer systems administrators. It adds that some people enter the field with a high school diploma combined with relevant training and certifications.

Licensure and certification notes

For the three engineering occupations, BLS says a license is not required for entry-level work. A Professional Engineer (PE) license becomes relevant later in a career: it allows an engineer to oversee other engineers, sign off on projects and provide services directly to the public. The handbook describes the usual state requirements as a degree from an accredited engineering program, a passing score on the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam, several years of relevant work experience and a passing score on the PE exam. The mechanical engineering profile puts the experience requirement at typically at least four years, and it says every state and the District of Columbia requires licensure for mechanical engineers who sell services to the public. The electrical engineering profile notes that some states require continuing education to keep a license, and the mechanical profile says most employers prefer graduates of accredited programs.

Computing works differently. The software developer profile lists no licensing or certification requirement. The information security analyst profile says many employers prefer candidates who hold an information security certification, that certifications exist for entry-level and experienced workers as well as specialties such as systems auditing, and it refers readers to CareerOneStop for listings.

Where to look next

Each handbook profile also covers typical duties, work environment, state and metropolitan pay data, and similar occupations. Students and advisers comparing STEM careers can move from the summary tab of each profile to its How to Become One and Job Outlook tabs for the detail behind the figures above, and the same projections underlie the data on every other occupation in the handbook.

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