Computer Engineer Salary

In the United States, computer engineers have a mean pay of $118,700 per year. The mean stands at C$75,000 ($56,249 USD) for those in Canada. The computer engineer salary in the United Kingdom is £26,491 ($33,078 USD) per year, while in Australia is AU$60,000 ($44,961 USD) yearly.

Computer engineers in Switzerland earn a mean salary of CHF89,924 ($89,293 USD) per year. While in Norway electronics engineers, which can include computer engineers, earn NOK796,800 ($92,713 USD) per year.

Computer Engineer Salary Influencers

For computer engineers, compensation depends on factors such as work setting, experience, and country of work. In certain nations, employee benefits are conferred via legislation and regulations.

1. Industry

Computer engineers populate various kinds of employers, especially those engaged in computer hardware manufacturing. In the United States, in 2014, computer systems design and related services employers accounted for 22 percent of computer hardware engineers. Businesses that manufacture computers and accessories employed another 16 percent, while those making semiconductors and electronic components employed 15 percent. The median wage for the computer hardware engineer position as of May 2016 was $118,700.

In Canada, the sector for professional, technical and scientific services employed the largest share of computer and other engineers, at 35.90 percent. Also, approximately 12 percent of these professionals in Canada are self-employed.

2. Geographical Area

Computer Engineer Salary	US	Canada	UK	Australia	Switzerland	Norway
Hourly Wage	$57.07	C$36.06	£12.74	AU$28.85	CHF43.23	NOK383.08
Annual Wage	$118,700	C$75,000	£26,491	AU$60,000	CHF89,924	NOK796,800

 

Computer Engineer Salary in the US

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, a computer hardware engineer in the United States earns a mean salary of $118,700. While the median pay stands at $115,800, with the top ten percent of earners making above $172,010.

Computer Engineer Salary in Canada

PayScale reports a mean salary of C$75,000 for computer hardware engineers in Canada. So, total pay runs from C$40,118 to C$110,744.

Computer Engineer Salary in the UK

For computer hardware engineers in the United Kingdom, the mean pay as reported by Payscale is £26,491 per year. While the pay range spans between £14,500 and £92,000.

Computer Engineer Salary in Australia

According to PayScale, the mean pay for a computer hardware engineer in Australia stands at AU$60,000, while the total pay usually ranges between AU$31,147 and AU$105,721.

Computer Engineer Salary in Switzerland

Systems engineers, who are involved with computers and information technology, hold a mean pay of CHF89,924 per year. For these professionals, the pay scale starts at CHF51,607 and peaks at CHF127,948.

Computer Engineer Salary in Norway

In Norway, electronics engineers who may work in the computer field, hold a mean pay of NOK66,400 per month, therefore NOK796,800 per year.

3. Experience

The median pay for entry-level computer hardware engineers in the United States stands at $65,000. At five years of experience, the median climbs to $85,000, then peaks at $113,000 at ten years of experience. Computer hardware engineers earn a median pay of $107,000 beyond 20 years of experience.

“Experienced” systems engineers in Switzerland earn 25 percent above the mean pay, while those in the “mid-career” level make nine percent above the mean. The pay for an entry-level systems engineer falls at 16 percent below the mean salary.

Working Hours

Generally, computer engineers are full-time workers. A quarter of computer hardware engineers worked longer than 40 hours per week in 2014. In Canada, approximately 97 percent of these professionals log full-time hours, compared with roughly 81 percent of employees overall in Canada.

According to the Australian Government’s Job Outlook, over 96 percent of computer network professionals, which include computer systems engineers, worked full-time. These professionals logged 39 hours per week, compared with 40.2 hours per week for all workers in Australia.

Bonuses & Benefit Packages

Bonuses for computer hardware engineers in the United States run from $41 to as high as $27,500. Profit-sharing programs contribute up to $37,500 to these professionals’ pay. In Canada, bonuses reach C$2,000, while in Australia, reported bonuses reach AU$9,000. Systems engineers in Switzerland fetch bonuses between CHF1,577 and CHF17,879. In Norway, electronics engineers receive bonuses of NOK2,500 monthly or NOK30,000 per year.

Salaried computer engineers in Australia, Switzerland, and Norway receive statutorily-granted job perks. These benefits include paid leave and employer-funded retirement. In fact, in Switzerland, mandatory employer contributions are the second of three tiers of retirement support. The first tier consists of Old Age and Survivors/Disability Insurance, and the third tier comes from voluntary employer contributions. The first two levels account for 60 percent of employees’ retirement.

In Canada, professionals are generally entitled to maternity benefits for up to 15 weeks. Canada entitles parents of newborns or newly-adopted children to a maximum of 35 weeks of parental benefits. While in the United Kingdom, “Statutory Maternity Pay” lasts 39 weeks. In the first six weeks, the maternity pay is 90 percent of the employee’s average weekly earnings. For the next 33 weeks, the computer engineer on maternity leave gets the lesser of 90 percent of average weekly pay or £140.98.

Job Outlook

Overall, growth in the employment of computer engineers should lag behind other professions. Development of software and mobile device applications drive much of the technological advancement. As a result, demand for software developers and software engineers should outpace hardware engineers.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 3 percent rise in employment of computer hardware engineers by 2024. The Canadian Government’s “Job Bank” projects by 2024 there will be 10,600 openings and 11,400 seekers for jobs for computer engineers and other engineers not already classified. In 2014, Canada had 22,600 computer engineers.

In Australia, the computer network professional occupation should have between 5,001 and 10,000 openings by November 2019. While the country had 29,100 computer network professionals in November 2015.

Demand for engineers on the hardware side may strengthen as automakers develop features such as autonomous driving, advanced safety-enhancement, and in-car entertainment or wireless systems for Internet access. Computer engineers may also find work in the healthcare industry, renewable energy, gaming and, telecommunications.

Conclusion

For engineers working with computer hardware and systems, employment prospects may rise among automakers, healthcare equipment makers and other sectors where computer hardware is necessary or increasingly in demand. Though, with the prominence of tablets, smartphones and other forms of mobile technology, software engineers will continue to be in greater demand. Generally, experience and the volume of the employer’s business will help enhance pay for computer engineers.