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

What is a corrosion engineer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

A corrosion engineer is a trained professional who is generally responsible for keeping machinery in good condition. They analyze machines, develop and implements strategies to prevent or slow down corrosion. Corrosion causes major damages to machines, and this may pose a huge threat to the companies. A corrosion engineer also performs repairs and upgrades on malfunctioned machinery and may also be responsible for developing new products.

Corrosion engineers usually report to the lead/principal engineer. They work closely with equipment suppliers and other technicians in order to execute their roles efficiently. A successful corrosion engineer should have engineering knowledge and experience, relevant technical skills, communication skills, creativity, attention to detail, analytical skills, and teamwork.

Corrosion engineers usually work in a factory setting. They work 40 hours a week Monday to Friday from 9 to 5. It is also worth noting that the job is physically demanding, and therefore one must be in good physical condition.

ScoreCorrosion EngineerUS Average

Salary

7.6

Avg. Salary $99,156

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

5.2

Growth Rate 6%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

7.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.34%

Asian 19.13%

Black or African American 2.00%

Hispanic or Latino 7.97%

Unknown 3.48%

White 67.09%

Gender

female 12.33%

male 87.67%

Age - 40

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 - 40

Stress Level

5.2

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

7.6

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

5.9

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a corrosion engineer

Explore corrosion engineer education requirements

Most common corrosion engineer degrees

Bachelor's

73.4 %

Master's

18.5 %

Associate

4.0 %

Start to develop specific corrosion engineer skills

Skills	Percentages
Nace	17.24%
API	12.78%
Cathodic Protection	10.25%
Corrosion Control	9.06%
Technical Support	7.17%

Complete relevant corrosion engineer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New corrosion 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 corrosion engineer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real corrosion engineer resumes.

Research corrosion engineer duties and responsibilities

Accomplish QA of inspector worksheets during shipboard inspection, and generate certification report for government approval.
Schedule field crews for CIS and DCVG surveys.
Assess CIS, DCVG, ACVG and PCM results to develop remediation plans.
Support SCC failures, welding and hydrostatic pressure testing of pipes.

Prepare your corrosion engineer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your corrosion 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 corrosion 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 Corrosion Engineer Resume templates

Build a professional Corrosion 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 Corrosion Engineer resume.

Apply for corrosion engineer jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a corrosion 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

How do corrosion engineers rate their job?