How To Become A Component Engineer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a component engineer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted Expert

Julie Brandis

A component engineer creates, installs, and tests specific parts of electrical and mechanical systems. They are often employed in the aviation, automotive, or appliance manufacturing business. They work during the production, research, development compliance, and design states of manufacturing products. They may specialize in only one area, however.

Some component engineers design new part for large systems or products to improve efficiency and effectiveness. They may also need to be aware of testing or installing preexisting components, equipment, or machinery. Other component engineers design new part for large systems or products to improve efficiency and effectiveness. Component Engineers may also need to be aware of testing or installing preexisting components, equipment, or machinery.

In this position, you could make a median salary of over $93,000 per year.

What general advice would you give to a Component Engineer?

Julie Brandis

Executive Director of Strategic Partnerships, Website

Oregon State University provides support in salary negotiation, also students can work with mentors who are familiar with company hiring practices and wage structures. If you have internship experience, that can help to boost your starting salary.

ScoreComponent EngineerUS Average

Salary

6.6

Avg. Salary $84,771

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

7.5

Growth Rate 10%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.17%

Asian 15.07%

Black or African American 4.23%

Hispanic or Latino 10.38%

Unknown 3.88%

White 66.27%

Gender

female 13.87%

male 86.13%

Age - 41

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 41

Stress Level

7.5

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

8.3

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

5.1

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a component engineer

Explore component engineer education requirements

Most common component engineer degrees

Bachelor's

71.2 %

Associate

16.0 %

Master's

9.7 %

Start to develop specific component engineer skills

Skills	Percentages
Failure Analysis	6.79%
DFMEA	4.49%
Dvp R	4.26%
Obsolescence	4.09%
Electrical Components	3.82%

Complete relevant component engineer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New component engineers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a component engineer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real component engineer resumes.

Research component engineer duties and responsibilities

Facilitate and manage CAPA investigations from creation through verification of effectiveness and closure.
Insure DFM, DFT and overall success of projects move from development to long term production.
Work with test labs, design engineering, and failure analysis group to identify potential issues and final approval.
Defect analysis including SEM, FIB/SEM, EDX, XPS, TEM, EDX and micro-probing etc.

Prepare your component engineer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your component engineer resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a component engineer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Component Engineer Resume templates

Build a professional Component Engineer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Component Engineer resume.

Apply for component engineer jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a component engineer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams