Competitive Market is Good News for Mechanical Engineers
Competitive Market is Good News for Mechanical Engineers
With a competitive engineering market continuing into 2025, engineering optimism is fueled by innovative technologies, meeting climate challenges, and ensuring energy transition.
Attracting and recruiting the best engineering candidates in today’s market continues to be competitive moving into 2025. “Engineers in just about any role are not worried about finding a job right now,“ concluded the 2025 Workforce Planning Guide. The report covers trends, strategies, and geographic and role-based salary data and is optimistic about engineering opportunities. But it also pointed out that the ratio of job openings to engineers is about three to one. “And that’s down from last year when there were seven listings for every candidate.”
According to Industry Week, the demand for engineers is “cooling a bit,” but three positions for every one engineer are “still good for engineers who seek top salaries.” According to Jim Gerlock, an executive recruitment consultant with Addison Group, engineers enjoying the greatest opportunities are those who are new graduates and those with under five years of experience. These engineers are bringing “foundational, technical knowledge” that is now desperately needed in everything from manufacturing to robotics to automotives, he explained.
Source: Addison Group’s 2025 Workforce Planning Guide
“It is absolutely coming back,” Gerlock said of his confident take on both light and heavy manufacturing. The report included the national manufacturing average salary for COO ($252,924), VP of manufacturing ($192,521), and Director of Manufacturing ($146,929).
The report concluded that manufacturers would need to fill over 30,000 new engineering jobs by 2029 across every sector from healthcare and automotive to aerospace and defense. Beyond leadership, Gerlock said, “The market is looking at professionals that know systems.” He looked at the application of software and technology to mechanical engineering processes as the key to success in this area for MEs.
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Beyond manufacturing, the report looked toward energy as a very promising sector and one that is “booming” for mechanical engineers. Such engineers are working amid a “talent drought” as the sector tackles such challenges as climate change and the transition from fossil fuel to alternative energy sources. “The field of energy is changing, and mechanical engineers who are entering the energy field now are looking at positions that are entirely different than those they looked at just five years ago, let alone 25 years ago,” Gerlock said.
The report recognized that compensation continues to be a key factor for attracting engineering talent and one that necessitates competitive offers. But the report also found that companies are being “extra cautious” before they make any offer, including those to mechanical engineers.
Another Resource: Infographic: Employment Optimism Fueled by Transition
This may be because company culture depends on it. Addison Group reported that 70 percent of companies brought work completely back into the office, while 30 percent settled into a hybrid model. Companies may need to hire quickly, but the process must consider the company's culture. This means longer interview processes, the report concluded, “moving from two interviews to as many as eight interviews with multiple teams.”
Gerlock concluded that despite the continued need for engineers, MEs need to begin to prepare now for the next change and be ready for the next adjustment. “They need to be open to learning software that may not seem as relevant in the moment,” he said. They may need to learn other “areas of the production or the processes,” for example, he said. “Sometimes people clock in and clock out,” Gerlock explained. “But those engineers who gain the knowledge and obtain a greater understanding and capability are going to be the most valuable in any organization.”
Cathy Cecere is membership content program manager.
According to Industry Week, the demand for engineers is “cooling a bit,” but three positions for every one engineer are “still good for engineers who seek top salaries.” According to Jim Gerlock, an executive recruitment consultant with Addison Group, engineers enjoying the greatest opportunities are those who are new graduates and those with under five years of experience. These engineers are bringing “foundational, technical knowledge” that is now desperately needed in everything from manufacturing to robotics to automotives, he explained.
Paying talent
Companies remain on the hunt for top talent, with mechanical engineering making the report’s list of “in-demand roles” within engineering that also included project managers, chemical engineers, and electrical engineers. The report disclosed that the national average salary for mechanical engineering reached $108,905, above both chemical ($105,767) and civil engineering ($91,795).
Source: Addison Group’s 2025 Workforce Planning Guide
The report concluded that manufacturers would need to fill over 30,000 new engineering jobs by 2029 across every sector from healthcare and automotive to aerospace and defense. Beyond leadership, Gerlock said, “The market is looking at professionals that know systems.” He looked at the application of software and technology to mechanical engineering processes as the key to success in this area for MEs.
Discover the Benefits of ASME Membership
Beyond manufacturing, the report looked toward energy as a very promising sector and one that is “booming” for mechanical engineers. Such engineers are working amid a “talent drought” as the sector tackles such challenges as climate change and the transition from fossil fuel to alternative energy sources. “The field of energy is changing, and mechanical engineers who are entering the energy field now are looking at positions that are entirely different than those they looked at just five years ago, let alone 25 years ago,” Gerlock said.
Learning and more
The report recognized that compensation continues to be a key factor for attracting engineering talent and one that necessitates competitive offers. But the report also found that companies are being “extra cautious” before they make any offer, including those to mechanical engineers. Another Resource: Infographic: Employment Optimism Fueled by Transition
This may be because company culture depends on it. Addison Group reported that 70 percent of companies brought work completely back into the office, while 30 percent settled into a hybrid model. Companies may need to hire quickly, but the process must consider the company's culture. This means longer interview processes, the report concluded, “moving from two interviews to as many as eight interviews with multiple teams.”
Gerlock concluded that despite the continued need for engineers, MEs need to begin to prepare now for the next change and be ready for the next adjustment. “They need to be open to learning software that may not seem as relevant in the moment,” he said. They may need to learn other “areas of the production or the processes,” for example, he said. “Sometimes people clock in and clock out,” Gerlock explained. “But those engineers who gain the knowledge and obtain a greater understanding and capability are going to be the most valuable in any organization.”
Cathy Cecere is membership content program manager.
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