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Electrical Engineering vs Computer Engineering: pay, job growth and AI risk
Which is the better bet over the next 20 years? Here's what official data says about the jobs each major usually leads to.
Computer Engineering careers pay more at the median ($133,100 vs $127,500 a year). Computer Engineering has faster projected job growth through 2035 (+10.7% vs +6.3%). Electrical Engineering jobs have less AI task exposure (46% vs 57% of tasks).
Scorecard
“Edge” marks the stronger number on each line (for AI, lower exposure). No edge when the gap is small (median pay within 1%, AI within 3 points, growth within 1 point). Electrical Engineering: 1 · Computer Engineering: 4. This is a tally, not a verdict: weigh what matters to you.
What each major studies
Electrical Engineering covers electricity, electronics and signals: circuits, power systems, controls and communications. Computer Engineering covers where hardware meets software: digital circuits, embedded systems, computer architecture and programming.
Is Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering more at risk from AI?
Using the “GPTs are GPTs” task ratings, 46% of the tasks in typical Electrical Engineering careers could be done at least twice as fast with current AI tools, versus 57% for Computer Engineering (all U.S. jobs: 33%). Higher exposure means more of the work can be sped up by AI. That can mean fewer people doing the same work, or the same people doing more. It is not a count of jobs lost.
By career
Electrical Engineering: tasks AI can speed up
- design electronic or computer equipment or instrumentation (Electrical & Electronics Engineers)
- update technical knowledge (Computer Hardware Engineers)
- design energy production or management equipment or systems (Nuclear Engineers)
Tasks that stay human
- test performance of electrical, electronic, mechanical, or integrated systems… (Electrical & Electronics Engineers)
- supervise engineering (Computer Hardware Engineers)
- resolve operational performance problems (Nuclear Engineers)
Computer Engineering: tasks AI can speed up
- update technical knowledge (Computer Hardware Engineers)
- analyze data to identify or resolve operational problems (Software Developers & QA)
- design electronic or computer equipment or instrumentation (Electrical & Electronics Engineers)
Tasks that stay human
- supervise engineering (Computer Hardware Engineers)
- test software performance (Software Developers & QA)
- test performance of electrical, electronic, mechanical, or integrated systems… (Electrical & Electronics Engineers)
What BLS says about AI in these jobs
- Software Developers & QA: “Occupational substitution, capital/labor substitution - share decreases as some tasks move to software developers as companies increasingly integrate their testing into their software development processes, and as some testing tasks are automated by artificial intelligence (AI).”
Electrical Engineering vs Computer Engineering job outlook: the next 10 and 20 years
Index: 2025 jobs = 100. Lines = BLS projection to 2035. Shaded = our 2035–2045 extrapolation range.
BLS projects employment in the Electrical Engineering careers we track to change +6.3% from 2025 to 2035 (about 44,200 openings a year), and +10.7% for Computer Engineering (about 189,500 a year). All U.S. jobs: +3.5%. No official source projects 20 years out. Our 2035–2045 range only shows what happens if the current trend continues or stalls.
How the shaded range works: the top edge assumes each field's 2025–35 yearly growth rate continues to 2045; the bottom edge assumes no change after 2035 (flipped for shrinking fields). It is an extrapolation from BLS data, not a BLS projection.
Electrical Engineering vs Computer Engineering salary: which pays more?
Line = 10th to 90th percentile · box = middle half · dot = median (BLS OEWS, May 2024)
At the median, Electrical Engineering careers pay $127,500 and Computer Engineering careers pay $133,100 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2024). The middle half of Electrical Engineering workers earn $103,000 to $157,600; for Computer Engineering it is $103,000 to $169,000. Pay tends to rise with experience, so new graduates often start nearer the lower end.
This shows how pay is spread across everyone working in these jobs today, from newer workers (lower end) to experienced ones (upper end). It is not a year-by-year salary path.
Careers behind the numbers
| Career | Median pay | Jobs 2025–35 | AI task exposure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical & Electronics Engineers | $111,910 | +7.9% | 50% |
| Computer Hardware Engineers | $155,020 | +9.1% | 52% |
| Nuclear Engineers | $127,520 | +0.0% | 51% |
| Electrical Engineering Technicians | $77,180 | +2.4% | 37% |
| Architectural & Engineering Managers | $167,740 | +5.5% | 39% |
| Career | Median pay | Jobs 2025–35 | AI task exposure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Computer Hardware Engineers | $155,020 | +9.1% | 52% |
| Software Developers & QA | $133,080 | +9.7% | 67% |
| Electrical & Electronics Engineers | $111,910 | +7.9% | 50% |
| Computer Network Architects | $130,390 | +7.7% | 59% |
| Computer & Info Systems Managers | $171,200 | +15.8% | 55% |
Which is better, Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering?
Neither is better for everyone. Computer Engineering careers pay more at the median ($133,100 vs $127,500 a year). Computer Engineering has faster projected job growth through 2035 (+10.7% vs +6.3%). Electrical Engineering jobs have less AI task exposure (46% vs 57% of tasks). The better pick is the one whose day-to-day work you would actually like doing.
Still torn between Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering? See which one fits you.
Pay and AI exposure tell you about the jobs. They don't tell you whether you'd enjoy the work. MajorMatch's proprietary scoring matches your interests and strengths to 100 majors. It takes 10 to 20 minutes, and your top 3 matches are free. The full report is optional ($29).
FAQ
Electrical Engineering vs Computer Engineering salary: which pays more?
At the median, Electrical Engineering careers pay $127,500 and Computer Engineering careers pay $133,100 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2024). The middle half of Electrical Engineering workers earn $103,000 to $157,600; for Computer Engineering it is $103,000 to $169,000. Pay tends to rise with experience, so new graduates often start nearer the lower end.
Is Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering more at risk from AI?
Using the “GPTs are GPTs” task ratings, 46% of the tasks in typical Electrical Engineering careers could be done at least twice as fast with current AI tools, versus 57% for Computer Engineering (all U.S. jobs: 33%). Higher exposure means more of the work can be sped up by AI. That can mean fewer people doing the same work, or the same people doing more. It is not a count of jobs lost.
Electrical Engineering vs Computer Engineering job outlook: the next 10 and 20 years
BLS projects employment in the Electrical Engineering careers we track to change +6.3% from 2025 to 2035 (about 44,200 openings a year), and +10.7% for Computer Engineering (about 189,500 a year). All U.S. jobs: +3.5%. No official source projects 20 years out. Our 2035–2045 range only shows what happens if the current trend continues or stalls.
Which is better, Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering?
Neither is better for everyone. Computer Engineering careers pay more at the median ($133,100 vs $127,500 a year). Computer Engineering has faster projected job growth through 2035 (+10.7% vs +6.3%). Electrical Engineering jobs have less AI task exposure (46% vs 57% of tasks). The better pick is the one whose day-to-day work you would actually like doing.
How do I know if Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering fits me?
Take the MajorMatch assessment. It takes 10 to 20 minutes, uses proprietary scoring across 100 majors, and shows your top 3 matches free.
Keep exploring
- Is a Electrical Engineering degree worth the loan? (calculator)
- What Can You Do With an Electrical Engineering Degree? 12 Paths
- Is a Computer Engineering degree worth the loan? (calculator)
- What Can You Do With a Computer Engineering Degree? Jobs & Pay
- AI-proof college majors
- Earnings Continuum: all 100 majors
More comparisons
Sources and method
- Pay: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2024 national estimates (annual wage percentiles). For each listed career, the OEWS percentiles of its largest-employment SOC code; the major figure is the median of its careers at each percentile (equal weight), rounded to $100. Where BLS reports a wage only as “$239,200 or more” (marked ≥), we use $239,200, so the real figure is higher.
- Job growth: BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 (Table 1.2, occupational projections). Sum of BLS 2025 and projected 2035 employment over the unique SOC codes behind the major's listed careers; percent = 2035/2025 - 1. All U.S. jobs: +3.5%.
- 20-year view: BLS publishes 10-year projections only. For 2035–2045 we show a range, not a forecast: the top edge assumes the field's 2025–35 yearly rate keeps going for 10 more years; the bottom edge assumes no further change after 2035 (reversed for fields BLS expects to shrink). Real results can land outside this range.
- AI task exposure: share of each job's tasks (from the O*NET 30.0 task list) that current AI tools could do at least twice as fast at the same quality, from Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), “GPTs are GPTs” (Science, 2024; human and GPT-4 ratings averaged; tasks that need extra software count half). Cross-checked against Felten, Raj & Seamans' AI Occupational Exposure scores (rank correlation 0.68 across 170 careers). Major figure = equal-weight average of the careers we list for it. All U.S. jobs (33%) = Employment-weighted mean over 772 detailed occupations (142.8M jobs, OEWS May 2024), same formula as the major figures. Exposure means AI can speed up tasks. It is not a prediction of job losses. The ILO's exposure index wasn't used because it's published on a different occupation system.
- BLS AI notes: where BLS lists artificial intelligence as a factor in its 2025–35 projection for an occupation (Table 1.12), we quote it.
- Careers per major: the same career list MajorMatch uses in its Earnings Continuum and loan calculators. A major doesn't limit you to these jobs.
Updated 2026-10-31. Data: bls.gov/oes, bls.gov/emp, onetcenter.org, github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs, github.com/AIOE-Data/AIOE.