salary guide: engineering.

Highways, airports, tunnels, dams — civil engineers have a hand in making virtually every aspect of our infrastructure. Given the scope of their influence, it's no surprise that civil engineers are well compensated for their work. But what is surprising is that demand for these engineers remains high, despite many reductions in the kind of large-scale projects that often require civil engineers. 

There were 93,673 jobs posted for these professionals in the past 12 months, and demand is classified as "high" or "very high" in roughly half of all states. What's more, employers run the gamut from forest services to consultancies. This means civil engineers are highly in demand across the board, and with so many opportunities for them to pursue, expect hiring the right one for your company to be a challenge in 2021.

From component testing to validation, safety inspections, quality assurance (QA) and more, electrical engineers are vital contributors to innovative products and projects at companies across the board — and their high average annual salaries reflect that. Much of the work performed by electrical engineers can be carried out remotely, too, which may partially explain why demand for electrical engineers remained steady throughout the past year. In fact, there were 86,295 job postings for electrical engineers in the past 12 months.

While demand was highest in California, Texas and Michigan, employers everywhere should also be aware that the shift to remote work may give them the chance to hire talented engineers outside their local markets. A candidate in Boise, for example, may not think twice about applying for a remote role in Chicago. On the other hand, given all of this demand, companies with urgent electrical engineering roles to fill may find that time is something they don't have enough of.

From research and development (R&D) to manufacturing to maintenance and beyond, mechanical engineers contribute value in ways that are no less various: testing and validating new designs, building prototypes, troubleshooting problems and more. They're at the front lines of a host of cutting-edge technology applications today, and their salaries reflect that.

But for employers, their price tag isn't the only cause for concern. Take the fact that there were more than 70,000 jobs posted for mechanical engineers in the past 12 months. And that level of demand isn't likely to dry up anytime soon, given that 8.8 percent growth is the 10-year forecast. Meanwhile, average time-to-fill for the role continues to linger at a lengthy 46 days, which means it could be a painful waiting game for organizations desperate to land engineering talent.

Engineering projects are complicated endeavors. With many moving parts and an array of different contributors involved, they might easily fall apart if not for project managers — and that’s just one reason why demand for these professionals continues to grow. All told, there were more than 20,000 job postings for project managers in the engineering sector during the last 12 months alone.

With so much demand, it’s easy to see why the average salaries for these hands-on, outcome-oriented managers is climbing. And while that high level of demand is fairly consistent from coast to coast, it appears to be peaking in California, Texas and Florida. So employers in these states (as well as elsewhere) should be on notice, because hiring experienced project managers will be no easy feat in 2021.

Robotics engineers spark innovation within the R&D wings of top companies today across a host of industries, from tech to medical devices and more. They design, develop and bring to life what are called "functional robotics": robots that can automate processes, learn on the job (thanks to machine learning) and broadly enhance operations. It's also a role that requires a lot of creativity, and the companies that are eager to hire these in-demand pros may need to get a little creative, too.

The latest data shows more than 3,000 jobs posted in the past 12 months. That may not be the largest number of postings within this guide, but that's still a lot of demand for a few very skilled engineers. And with an average time-to-fill of 45 days, it's clear that companies are willing to take their time to find the right fit.