# Materials Engineers

US SOC code 17-2131. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/17-2131

Also called: Materials scientist engineer, Metallurgical engineer, Metallurgist, Composites engineer, Polymer engineer.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **22,770** US materials engineers, with median pay of **$112,860** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2021, the highest was **24,630**, in May 2023. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://www.nber.org/books-and-chapters/demand-and-supply-scientific-personnel/appendix-b-census-data-number-engineers-and-chemists-1890-1950) of **2,500** from 1900, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era for materials engineers: Computational materials science, 2005 to 2020. High-throughput DFT screening compressed the initial candidate selection phase of materials discovery, reducing the number of physical synthesis experiments required for a given property target.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to grow 7.5% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=17-2131&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **31.7%** of this job's tasks are exposed to large language models. Not a forecast of job losses. [Eloundou and others, 2023](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv)

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35. BLS publishes these counts as yearly survey snapshots and cautions against reading them as a precise trend.

## Materials Engineers employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1871
- Latest US employment: 22,770 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [5]
- Latest US median pay: $112,860 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [11]
- Outlook: +7.5% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [27]

### In other countries

The latest figure each country's statistics agency publishes for this job. Each uses its own occupation definition, survey basis and currency, so the numbers are not directly comparable with each other or with the US figures.

- **Canada** (NOC 21322)
  - Employment, 2020: 2,630. Source: Statistics Canada Census 2021 [8]. Statistics Canada Census of Population 2021: number of persons with employment income in NOC 21322 Metallurgical and materials engineers, Canada, reference year 2020. A recipients basis (anyone with employment income during the year), slightly broader than a point-in-time employed count. Statistics Canada Open Licence.
  - Median pay, 2020: C$111,000. Source: Statistics Canada Census 2021 [15]. Statistics Canada Census of Population 2021 (Table 98-10-0586): median employment income for NOC 21322 Metallurgical and materials engineers, Canada, reference year 2020, full-year full-time workers (the basis comparable to the US OEWS full-time median). Statistics Canada Open Licence.

### All 28 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1900 | 2,500 (estimate) | n/a | Est., NBER [1] |
| 1930 | 8,000 | n/a | Decennial Census 1930 [2] |
| 1950 | 14,000 (estimate) | $4,200 (estimate) | Est., NBER (employment) [1]; Est., University of Missouri Libraries (pay) [9] |
| 1975 | 18,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., BLS FRASER [3] |
| 1990 | 21,000 | $45,000 | BLS CPS March 1990 [4] |
| 2003 | 23,120 | $62,930 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [5] |
| 2004 | 21,130 | $67,110 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [5] |
| 2005 | 20,950 | $69,660 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [5] |
| 2006 | 21,230 | $73,990 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [5] |
| 2007 | 21,910 | $77,170 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [5] |
| 2008 | 24,160 | $81,820 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [5] |
| 2009 | 22,510 | $83,190 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [5] |
| 2010 | 21,830 | $83,120 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [5] |
| 2011 | 22,160 | $84,550 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [5] |
| 2012 | 22,740 | $85,150 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [5] |
| 2013 | 24,190 | $87,330 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [5] |
| 2014 | 24,990 | $87,690 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [5] |
| 2015 | 27,040 | $91,310 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [5] |
| 2016 | 26,800 | $93,310 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [5] |
| 2017 | 27,200 | $94,610 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [5] |
| 2018 | 26,930 | $92,390 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [5] |
| 2019 | 26,820 | $93,360 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [5] |
| 2020 | 24,740 | $95,640 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [5] |
| 2021 | 21,530 | $98,300 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [5] |
| 2022 | 21,510 | $100,140 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [5] |
| 2023 | 24,630 | $104,100 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [5] |
| 2024 | 22,770 | $108,310 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [5] |
| 2025 | 22,770 | $112,860 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [5] |

## Sources (95)

### Employment series

1. [NBER — "Appendix B: Census Data on Number of Engineers and Chemists, 1890-1950" (Blank and Stigler, 1957)](https://www.nber.org/books-and-chapters/demand-and-supply-scientific-personnel/appendix-b-census-data-number-engineers-and-chemists-1890-1950), National Bureau of Economic Research
2. [IPUMS USA — Occupation and Industry Codes and Documentation (1930 Census, metallurgical engineer classification)](https://usa.ipums.org/usa/volii/occ_ind.shtml), IPUMS / University of Minnesota
3. [BLS FRASER — Employment Outlook for Engineers (BLS Bulletin series, 1968-1976): metallurgical and materials engineer projections](https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/title/employment-outlook-455), Bureau of Labor Statistics / FRASER
4. [BLS — "White-collar pay in goods-producing industries, March 1990" (Monthly Labor Review, December 1990)](https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/1990/12/rpt1full.pdf), Bureau of Labor Statistics
5. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)
6. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2006, Table 97-563-XCB2006069 (Wage and salary statistics by occupation, NOC-S 2006), income reference year 2005](https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/tbt/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&PID=96285), Statistics Canada
7. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2016, Table 98-400-X2016356 (Occupation by employment income statistics, NOC 2016), income reference year 2015](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/catalogue/98-400-X2016356), Statistics Canada
8. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021, Table 98-10-0586 (Employment income statistics by occupation unit group, NOC 2021), income reference year 2020](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810058601), Statistics Canada

### Wage series

9. [University of Missouri Libraries — Prices and Wages by Decade: 1950-1959 (engineering wages, BLS historical context)](https://libraryguides.missouri.edu/pricesandwages/1950-1959), University of Missouri Libraries / BLS historical sources
10. [BLS — "White-collar pay in goods-producing industries, March 1990" (Monthly Labor Review, December 1990)](https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/1990/12/rpt1full.pdf), Bureau of Labor Statistics
11. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)
12. [BLS OEWS May 2024, national cross-industry estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
13. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2006, Table 97-563-XCB2006069 (Wage and salary statistics by occupation, NOC-S 2006), income reference year 2005](https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/tbt/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&PID=96285), Statistics Canada
14. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2016, Table 98-400-X2016356 (Occupation by employment income statistics, NOC 2016), income reference year 2015](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/catalogue/98-400-X2016356), Statistics Canada
15. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021, Table 98-10-0586 (Employment income statistics by occupation unit group, NOC 2021), income reference year 2020](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810058601), Statistics Canada

### Tool eras

16. [Wikipedia — History of materials science: optical metallography, Sorby (1860s), Roberts-Austen phase diagram (1897)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_materials_science), Wikipedia
17. [AIME — History of AIME: founding 1871, metallurgical profession emergence in the US industrial era](https://aimehq.org/about-us/history), American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers
18. [Polymer-Search.com — "The Impact of World War II on the Polymer Industry": wartime polymer development and materials science professionalization](https://polymer-search.com/the-impact-of-world-war-ii-on-the-polymer-industry/), Polymer-Search.com
19. [DARPA — "Materials Science" innovation timeline: ARPA IDL program 1960, Cornell, Penn, Northwestern first contracts](https://www.darpa.mil/about/innovation-timeline/materials-science), Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
20. [Wikipedia — Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers: ARPA IDL history, National Academy of Sciences assessment](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Materials_Research_Science_and_Engineering_Centers), Wikipedia
21. [ASM International — Metals Handbook history and scope: the encoded knowledge base of the materials engineering profession (17-volume edition, 1990)](https://www.asminternational.org/about-asm/), ASM International
22. [Obama White House — Materials Genome Initiative for Global Competitiveness (June 2011): $500M federal investment, workforce development mandate](https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/materials_genome_initiative-final.pdf), Office of Science and Technology Policy / White House
23. [Materials Project (LBNL) — Open database of computed materials properties (~160,000 entries, 2024); ML interatomic potentials (M3GNet, CHGNet)](https://materialsproject.org/), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
24. [Merchant et al. 2023 (DeepMind) — Scaling deep learning for materials discovery (Nature, Nov 2023): GNoME predicts 2.2 million stable crystal structures](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06735-9?error=cookies_not_supported&code=06e19e4c-0418-4b88-9c36-b53d14fdc102), DeepMind / Nature
25. [Citrine Informatics — Citrine Platform 3.0: AI-powered closed-loop materials design and Bayesian experimental optimization (2024)](https://citrine.io/platform/), Citrine Informatics
26. [Wikipedia — Azure Quantum: Azure Quantum Elements platform combining AI, HPC and DFT for materials science and chemistry; battery screening (32 million candidates, 2024), accelerated DFT tool (2024)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azure_Quantum), Wikipedia

### Forecasts and exposure studies

27. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 17-2131 Materials engineers (2025: 23.8 thousand; 2035: 25.6 thousand; +7.5%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=17-2131&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
28. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 17-2131.00, human-rated β 0.317)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

29. [AIME — "AIME's Founding 1871 — Did You Know?" (sesquicentennial history)](https://aimehq.org/about-us/news/aimes-founding-1871-did-you-know), American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers
30. [AIME — History: The American Institute of Metals merger 1918, name change to AIME 1919](https://aimehq.org/about-us/history), American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers
31. [Northwestern University McCormick School — Quick Facts: "first Department of Materials Science in the world" (founded 1955)](https://www.mccormick.northwestern.edu/materials-science/about/quick-facts.html), Northwestern University
32. [DARPA — Materials Science innovation timeline: "ARPA helped establish what now is the burgeoning field of materials science and engineering" (1960 IDL program)](https://www.darpa.mil/about/innovation-timeline/materials-science), Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
33. [Obama White House — Materials Genome Initiative for Global Competitiveness (June 2011): announcement of MGI with $500M federal commitment](https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/mgi), Office of Science and Technology Policy / White House
34. [Merchant et al. 2023 — Scaling deep learning for materials discovery (Nature, Nov 2023): GNoME, 2.2M predicted stable structures, 736 independently synthesized](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06735-9?error=cookies_not_supported&code=06e19e4c-0418-4b88-9c36-b53d14fdc102), DeepMind / Nature

### Predecessors & successors

35. [AIME — History: founding 1871, metallurgical profession as the professional predecessor to BLS 17-2131](https://aimehq.org/about-us/history), American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers
36. [DARPA — Materials Science innovation timeline: semiconductor materials engineering as a distinct branch from 1960 ARPA IDL program](https://www.darpa.mil/about/innovation-timeline/materials-science), Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
37. [BLS OOH — Materials Scientists: +8% growth 2024-2034; median $103,240 (May 2024)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/life-physical-and-social-science/materials-scientists.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Present-day analysis

- [O\*NET 30.3 — Materials Engineers (17-2131.00): tasks, knowledge, technology skills](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/17-2131.00), accessed 2026-05-24
- [BLS OOH — Materials Engineers: +8% growth 2024–2034; median annual wage $100,140 (May 2024)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/materials-engineers.htm), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science): occupational LLM exposure framework](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Merchant et al. 2023 (DeepMind) — Scaling deep learning for materials discovery (Nature, Nov 2023): GNoME predicts 2.2 million stable crystal structures](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06735-9?error=cookies_not_supported&code=06e19e4c-0418-4b88-9c36-b53d14fdc102), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Citrine Informatics — Citrine Platform 3.0: AI-powered closed-loop materials design and optimization (2024)](https://citrine.io/platform/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Materials Project (LBNL) — Open database of computed materials properties (~160,000 entries); ML interatomic potentials (M3GNet, CHGNet)](https://materialsproject.org/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Schrödinger — Materials Science suite: molecular simulation and ML property prediction for battery, semiconductor, and polymer materials (2024–2025)](https://www.schrodinger.com/materials-science/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Ansys Granta MI — Materials data intelligence: ML-driven property search, compliance checking, and materials database management (2024)](https://www.ansys.com/products/materials/granta-mi), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Szymanski et al. 2023 (Google A-Lab) — An autonomous laboratory for the accelerated synthesis of novel materials (Nature, Dec 2023)](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06734-w?error=cookies_not_supported&code=153686c4-53c0-4938-acfe-c3aaf2519729), accessed 2026-05-24
- [National Science Foundation — Materials Genome Initiative (MGI): AI-assisted materials discovery and the human engineer as experimental validator](https://www.mgi.gov/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [FAA — Advisory Circular AC 20-107B: Composite Aircraft Structure — materials qualification, allowables generation, and PE-accountable design data](https://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Advisory_Circular/AC20-107B.pdf), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Microsoft — Azure Quantum Elements: cloud-scale DFT and AI-accelerated materials discovery (2023 launch, 2024–2025 platform expansion)](https://quantum.microsoft.com/en-us/solutions/azure-quantum-elements), accessed 2026-05-24
- [ThermoFisher Scientific — Avizo Software with AI: automated microstructure segmentation and phase quantification for materials characterization (2024–2025)](https://www.thermofisher.com/us/en/home/electron-microscopy/products/software-em-3d-vis/avizo-software.html), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Polymerize — AI-driven polymer and formulation development platform: Bayesian optimization for composition, property prediction, and formulation screening (2024)](https://polymerize.io/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [NVIDIA Modulus — physics-informed neural networks and PDE-based surrogate modeling for materials and engineering simulations (2024 GA release)](https://developer.nvidia.com/physicsnemo), accessed 2026-05-24

How to read these figures: https://futurehistory.earth/methodology. Every figure links to its own source; gaps stay gaps.