North Carolina·Architecture and Engineering Occupations·SOC 17-2199

Best Engineer, All Other programs in North Carolina, ranked by enrollment

All engineers not listed.

14 schools in North Carolina run programs that feed this job, graduating 532 people a year. The job pays a median of $112,450 in North Carolina across about 4,270 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledEngineerLaser EngineerSolar DesignerDesign EngineerEnergy EngineerOptical EngineerProcess EngineerProject Engineer
Graduates / yr
532
in North Carolina
Median pay · North Carolina
$112,450
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
4,270
people employed
Schools
14
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
66%
across those schools
Median net price
$23,920
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in North Carolina that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

11 programs in North Carolina that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in North Carolina (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own North Carolina page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1265
49.8%
9$67,734$24,375
284
15.8%
5$73,678$22,938
352
9.8%
2$75,998$25,314
437
7.0%
1$73,510$25,790
533
6.2%
2$79,942$20,500
622
4.1%
2$72,645$24,250
720
3.8%
1$72,154$21,457
88
1.5%
1$68,912$25,236
95
0.9%
2$57,457$24,706
105
0.9%
1$72,931
111
0.2%
1$67,734$24,375

Top 14 schools in North Carolina

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 4 of the 14 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1North Carolina A & T State University
Greensboro, NC Public · 3 feeder programs
87Engineering, Other57%50%
2North Carolina State University at Raleigh
Raleigh, NC Public · 4 feeder programs
87Engineering, General$71,76985%42%
3East Carolina University
Greenville, NC Public · 1 feeder programs
75Engineering, General$65,75863%89%
4University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Charlotte, NC Public · 4 feeder programs
75Construction Engineering69%80%
5Wake Forest University
Winston-Salem, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
46Engineering, General89%$20,91422%
6Western Carolina University
Cullowhee, NC Public · 1 feeder programs
35Engineering, General$62,24460%82%
7Campbell University
Buies Creek, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
27Engineering, General61%$23,33187%
8Duke University
Durham, NC Private not-for-profit · 5 feeder programs
27Engineering Design97%$16,2606%
9Elon University
Elon, NC Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
22Engineering, General84%$33,68866%
10University of North Carolina Asheville
Asheville, NC Public · 1 feeder programs
19Engineering, General$73,41054%92%
11Central Piedmont Community College
Charlotte, NC Public · 1 feeder programs
15Mechatronics, Robotics, and Automation Engineering31%
12University of North Carolina Wilmington
Wilmington, NC Public · 1 feeder programs
13Engineering, Other71%64%
13Queens University of Charlotte
Charlotte, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
3Engineering Physics/Applied Physics61%$24,87262%
14Lenoir - Rhyne University
Hickory, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
1Applied Engineering48%$23,92085%

All 14 schools in North Carolina

Every school in North Carolina with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.

All schools in North Carolina that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
North Carolina A & T State UniversityGreensboroPublic873
North Carolina State University at RaleighRaleighPublic874
East Carolina UniversityGreenvillePublic751
University of North Carolina at CharlotteCharlottePublic754
Wake Forest UniversityWinston-SalemPrivate not-for-profit461
Western Carolina UniversityCullowheePublic351
Campbell UniversityBuies CreekPrivate not-for-profit271
Duke UniversityDurhamPrivate not-for-profit275
Elon UniversityElonPrivate not-for-profit222
University of North Carolina AshevilleAshevillePublic191
Central Piedmont Community CollegeCharlottePublic151
University of North Carolina WilmingtonWilmingtonPublic131
Queens University of CharlotteCharlottePrivate not-for-profit31
Lenoir - Rhyne UniversityHickoryPrivate not-for-profit11

What engineers, all other earn in North Carolina

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in North Carolina
$112,450
Mean annual
$117,080
Jobs in state
4,270
What the range looks like
10th pct$63,130Median$112,45090th pct$173,370
Versus the national median
-8.5%

U.S. median $122,930. North Carolina pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
0.87×

1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.

Metro areas in North Carolina

Greenville, NC
$140,970median
40 jobs
Durham-Chapel Hill, NC
$127,710median
580 jobs
Fayetteville, NC
$125,980median
80 jobs
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC
$118,230median
1,030 jobs
Greensboro-High Point, NC
$118,160median
280 jobs
Asheville, NC
$105,840median
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC
$125,160median
60 jobs
Jacksonville, NC
$115,210median
50 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+2.1%
About as fast as average
Openings per year
9,300
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
3,300
158,800 → 162,100
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree

Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.

How to get in

The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Engineers, All Other page.

How to become a Engineer, All Other

Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree

Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Top skills

Critical ThinkingReading ComprehensionWritingActive ListeningSpeakingMathematics

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in North Carolina

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 25 majors mapped to Engineers, All Other25 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 14.0101Engineering, General
  • 14.0103Applied Engineering
  • 14.0401Architectural Engineering
  • 14.0702Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
  • 14.0802Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
  • 14.0805Water Resources Engineering
  • 14.1003Laser and Optical Engineering
  • 14.1004Telecommunications Engineering
  • 14.1101Engineering Mechanics
  • 14.1201Engineering Physics/Applied Physics
  • 14.1301Engineering Science
  • 14.2401Ocean Engineering
  • 14.2701Systems Engineering
  • 14.3301Construction Engineering
  • 14.3401Forest Engineering
  • 14.3601Manufacturing Engineering
  • 14.3801Surveying Engineering
  • 14.3901Geological/Geophysical Engineering
  • 14.4001Paper Science and Engineering
  • 14.4101Electromechanical Engineering
  • 14.4201Mechatronics, Robotics, and Automation Engineering
  • 14.4301Biochemical Engineering
  • 14.4401Engineering Chemistry
  • 14.4501Biological/Biosystems Engineering
  • 14.4701Electrical and Computer Engineering

Common questions

Answers for people weighing engineers, all other programs in North Carolina.

What degree do you need to become an Engineer, All Other?+

Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Engineering, General, which awarded 265 degrees in North Carolina in 2024-25, 49.8% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming an Engineer, All Other?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 11 programs to this occupation. The largest are Engineering, Engineering, Construction Engineering, Architectural Engineering, plus 6 more. Together they graduate about 532 people a year in North Carolina.

How much do engineers, all other earn in North Carolina?+

The median is $112,450 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 8.5% below the U.S. median of $122,930. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.

Is demand for engineers, all other growing?+

BLS projects a +2.1% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 9,300 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in North Carolina?+

14 institutions in North Carolina reported graduates from at least one of the 11 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.

What other job titles do engineers, all other work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Engineer, Laser Engineer, Solar Designer, Design Engineer, Energy Engineer, Optical Engineer among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 17-2199.

About the data on this page

Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).

  • BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics

    May 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.

  • IPEDS Completions

    2024-25 (provisional)

    Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.

  • College Scorecard, Field of Study

    2020-21 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.

    Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA

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