Materials Engineers
SOC 17-2131 · 2024-2034
Evaluate materials and develop machinery and processes to manufacture materials for use in products that must meet specialized design and performance specifications. Develop new uses for known materials. Includes those engineers working with composite materials or specializing in one type of material, such as graphite, metal and metal alloys, ceramics and glass, plastics and polymers, and naturally occurring materials. Includes metallurgists and metallurgical engineers, ceramic engineers, and welding engineers.
How the U.S. Department of Labor describes this work. Published in English only.
What California expects of this job
- Typical pay in California
- $132,066per year
- Projected openings
- 2,060
- Projected change
- +10%
- Usually needs
- Bachelor's degree
Bright Outlook — a U.S. Department of Labor designation
Rapid Growth
The Department's own designation, made from its national projections. It is not this project's assessment and it is not California's: every other figure on this page comes from California's projection, which can point the other way and for some occupations does.
Skills this work uses most
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, rates how important each of these is to this work, and they are listed in that order, most important first. The ratings themselves are not shown, because the data carries the number without the scale it was measured on. The names are as published, in English.
- Active Listening
- Complex Problem Solving
- Reading Comprehension
- Science
- Critical Thinking
- Speaking
Pay by region
| Region | Typical pay in California | Projected openings |
|---|---|---|
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA (San Benito and Santa Clara Counties) | $155,371 | 330 |
| Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties) | $138,266 | 250 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA (San Diego County) | $127,504 | 170 |
| Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine MD (Orange County) | $123,877 | 140 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD (Los Angeles County) | $122,829 | 670 |
What the pay actually ranges across
- The lowest-paid tenth earn under
- $84,768
- A quarter earn under
- $106,140
- Half earn under
- $132,066
- Three quarters earn under
- $162,402
- The highest-paid tenth earn over
- $189,027
A median is one point. These are the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2026 figures for California, and they say how far apart the people doing this job actually are. Read them as the spread across everyone already in the work — not as a starting wage and not as a promise about where anyone lands.
Similar work
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, names these as occupations involving work similar to this one — its own reading of the job, not a grouping by code. They keep O*NET's order, and only those California publishes a projection for are shown.
| Occupation | Typical pay in California | Projected openings | Projected change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Materials Scientists | $181,986 | 840 | +9.1% |
| Chemical Engineers | Not reported | 1,130 | 0% |
| Industrial Engineers | $128,088 | 24,010 | +11.9% |
| Mechanical Engineers | $134,564 | 20,280 | +11.5% |
| Engineers, All Other | $134,513 | 19,090 | +6.4% |
| Industrial Engineering Technologists and Technicians | $81,283 | 5,290 | +7% |