The highest paid engineer jobs in the U.S.A. belong to petroleum engineers, who create equipment and methods for extracting oil and gas from beneath the earth. They develop new drilling methods, create machinery for more efficient extraction and find ways to increase recovery of these fossil fuels. They receive mean earnings of $74.41 per hour or $154,780 per year.

Employment will grow by 15 percent from 2016 to 2026, which is faster than the average seven. This is because a growing population will demand more fuel, and many jobs will be available around the world as well as domestically. Prospects should be excellent since the number of job openings exceeds the number of graduates.