Sources: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics; National Association of Colleges and Empoyers; IEEE-USA.
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Salary offers for new U.S. electrical engineering grads over the past five years may not have increased as much as they have for those majoring in other areas of engineering, but demand is still strong. That should come as no surprise, given that technologists are behind the scenes in solar energy and search engines, cellphones and fuel cells, DNA sequencing and Hollywood blockbusters.
This rise in starting salaries would be even higher were companies not able to get young talent from such places as India, China, and Romania. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that over the next decade, EE employment will grow much more slowly than other engineering areas, because of the job outflux to other countries.
The consumer electronics industry, telecommunications, and aerospace and defense are sustaining the U.S. EE job market. And companies are willing to pay larger premiums for higher talent and education levels.