Highest paying engineering careers in Canada
Ranked by the typical pay shown on each career's own page, so the order here cannot disagree with the pages it links to. Typical means the middle: half earn more, half earn less. Starting pay is lower, and each career page shows the full range and what it takes to get there.
29 careers in Canada
Ranked by typical pay
291Petroleum EngineerGet oil and gas out of the ground. The best starting pay in engineering, tied to an industry that booms and busts.Typical pay$135kTo qualify4 to 8 yrsDemandModerate2Mining EngineerPlan and run the mines that dig up Canada's metals and minerals. High pay, remote sites, and an industry that rises and falls with metal prices.Typical pay$125kTo qualify4 to 8 yrsDemandGood3Chemical EngineerTurn raw materials into fuel, medicine, food and plastics at industrial scale. Best paid in Alberta, and tied to the oil price.Typical pay$108kTo qualify4 to 8 yrsDemandModerate4Electrical EngineerPower grids, electronics and telecom. Where the electricity comes from and where the signals go.Typical pay$105kTo qualify4 to 8 yrsDemandGood5Power Systems EngineerKeep the lights on. Design and protect the grid that carries electricity from dams and reactors to your house.Typical pay$105kTo qualify4 to 8 yrsDemandGood6Aerospace EngineerAircraft, engines, satellites and flight simulators. Montreal is the hub, and only a handful of schools teach it.Typical pay$104kTo qualify4 to 8 yrsDemandModerate7Agricultural EngineerEngineering for food: machinery, barns, irrigation, grain storage and the systems that move a harvest.Typical pay$104kTo qualify4 to 8 yrsDemandModerate8Biomedical EngineerMedical devices, implants and hospital equipment. A small job market, and often a stepping stone to medicine or grad school.Typical pay$104kTo qualify4 to 8 yrsDemandModerate9Fire Protection EngineerWork out how a building would burn, then design it so people get out. An engineering degree plus a fire specialty.Typical pay$104kTo qualify4 to 8 yrsDemandGood10Geological EngineerEngineering built on rock, soil and groundwater: tunnels, mine slopes, dams and contaminated ground.Typical pay$104kTo qualify4 to 8 yrsDemandGood11Naval ArchitectDesign ships and everything else that floats: hull shape, stability, structure and the systems inside.Typical pay$104kTo qualify4 to 8 yrsDemandModerate12Civil EngineerRoads, bridges, water and buildings. A four-year degree, then a licence that lets you sign the drawings.Typical pay$101kTo qualify4 to 8 yrsDemandGood13Environmental EngineerClean water, contaminated sites and climate projects. Mostly consulting firms, with a real share of the year outdoors.Typical pay$101kTo qualify4 to 8 yrsDemandGood14Geotechnical EngineerSoil and rock. Figure out what the ground will hold before anyone builds a foundation, a dam or a mine on it.Typical pay$101kTo qualify4 to 8 yrsDemandGood15Transportation EngineerDesign the roads, intersections, transit lines and signals that decide how a city moves.Typical pay$101kTo qualify4 to 8 yrsDemandGood16Water Resources EngineerDesign the pipes, dams and flood defences that move water safely. A four-year engineering degree, then a licence.Typical pay$101kTo qualify4 to 8 yrsDemandGood17Computer EngineerWhere hardware meets software: chips, embedded systems and the code that runs on them. Many never bother with the licence.Typical pay$100kTo qualify4 to 8 yrsDemandGood18Materials EngineerWork out what things are made of, why they break, and what to build them from next.Typical pay$100kTo qualify4 to 8 yrsDemandModerate19Nuclear EngineerKeep reactors running safely, and design the next ones. A small field with long, stable careers.Typical pay$95kTo qualify4 to 8 yrsDemandGood20Robotics EngineerBuild machines that sense, move and decide. Mostly code, some hardware, and no separate licence box for it.Typical pay$95kTo qualify4 to 8 yrsDemandGood21Structural EngineerMake sure buildings and bridges stand up. A civil engineering specialty with a master's, a stamp, and the liability that comes with it.Typical pay$95kTo qualify4 to 8 yrsDemandGood22Mechanical EngineerMachines, engines, heating systems and factories. The biggest engineering discipline, with the widest choice of employers.Typical pay$90kTo qualify4 to 8 yrsDemandGood23Industrial EngineerMake factories, warehouses and hospitals run faster and waste less. The engineering degree most likely to end in a management job.Typical pay$88kTo qualify4 to 8 yrsDemandGood24Health and Safety OfficerWalk the site, find what will hurt someone, and get it fixed before it does. A diploma plus experience.Typical pay$85kTo qualify2 to 6 yrsDemandGood25Electrical Engineering TechnologistDesign, test and commission electrical systems beside the engineers. A two-year college diploma gets you in.Typical pay$74kTo qualify2 to 4 yrsDemandGood26Mechanical Engineering TechnologistDraw, test and fix the moving parts of machines and buildings. Two years of college, then a job on the plant floor and at a desk.Typical pay$73kTo qualify2 to 4 yrsDemandGood27Engineering TechnologistThe hands-on half of every engineering office. A 2 or 3 year college diploma, then drafting, testing and site work.Typical pay$70kTo qualify2 to 5 yrsDemandGood28Drafting TechnologistTurn rough ideas into the exact drawings and 3D models that get built. One to three years of college.Typical pay$66kTo qualify1 to 3 yrsDemandModerate29Chemical TechnologistRun the tests that decide whether a product, a batch of water or a shipment of fuel is safe to release. Two years of college.Typical pay$62kTo qualify2 to 3 yrsDemandGood