I've been watching the Class of 2026 posts on LinkedIn.
Overall (all majors) grad hiring is up just 1.6% from last year, and 45% of employers rate the market only "fair," the weakest reading since 2021. Engineering is holding up better than most fields.
Average starting salary for engineering graduates is $81,198, up from $78,731 last year. Petroleum engineering leads individual majors at $100,750. Master's level averages $92,873. These are base salaries; total compensation runs higher in defense and energy.
Mechanical is the second most in-demand bachelor's degree this cycle. At least 60% of employers surveyed plan to hire mechanical engineers from the Class of 2026. Electrical is being pulled hard by data center construction, which is running at record pace across the country. Civil engineers are busy in Texas, Oklahoma, and Colorado. Job growth projections through 2034: 11% for industrial, 9.1% for mechanical, 7.2% for electrical. Median salary (the midpoint wage; half of workers in that field earn more, half earn less) for those three disciplines currently sits at $101,140, $102,320, and $111,910.
Three open engineering positions exist for every qualified candidate right now. Nearly half of working U.S. engineers are 50 or older. Retirements are outpacing new graduates in several disciplines, and that gap is not closing anytime soon. Hiring demand for engineers is projected to grow 13% by 2031. Defense contractors and infrastructure firms are actively recruiting now, not waiting for fall.
GPA screening dropped from 73% of employers in 2019 to 42% today. Internships and real project work are what move resumes forward. Some AI and data analytics fluency helps, particularly in electrical and systems roles. You do not need to be a researcher; you need to show you can use the tools.
The shortage of qualified candidates is real. Not a bad time to finish an engineering degree.
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