There is no single percentage, because “working in your field” can mean a job you consider related to your degree or an occupation formally classified as engineering. In the United States, the closest recent direct measure found says 11% of employed recent engineering bachelor’s recipients reported that their principal job was not related to their highest degree in 2021—meaning about 89% did not describe it as unrelated. That is not the same as saying 89% held engineering jobs.
What does “working in your field” mean?
Three different questions are often collapsed into one:
- Related to the degree: Do graduates consider their principal job related to their highest degree?
- An engineering occupation: Is their job classified as an architecture or engineering occupation?
- An exact specialty match: Does the job use the graduate’s particular discipline, such as civil, electrical, or mechanical engineering?
The most recent direct figure in the available U.S. evidence addresses the first question. It does not establish how many people work in an occupation formally classified as engineering or in the exact specialty they studied.
What the recent U.S. degree-relatedness figure says
The National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) reported that 11% of employed U.S. recipients of recent engineering bachelor’s degrees said their principal job was “Not related” to their highest degree in 2021. The other roughly 89% did not select that response. This is a self-reported relationship measure, not an exact-major match rate. NCSES, 2024
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For context, 24% of recent science and engineering (S&E) bachelor’s recipients combined reported an unrelated principal job in 2021. That figure covers the broader S&E group, not engineering recipients alone. NCSES, 2024
Why a different source gives a smaller engineering-occupation share
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that 29% of workers with an engineering degree were employed in architecture and engineering occupations in 2023. It also reports 19% in management and 16% in computer and mathematical occupations. These figures describe workers’ occupational categories; they do not ask whether those workers consider their jobs related to their engineering education. A role in computing or management, for example, may draw on engineering training without being classified as an engineering occupation. BLS, 2025
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So the 11% and 29% figures are not competing estimates of the same outcome. One measures self-reported degree relatedness among recent engineering bachelor’s recipients; the other describes the occupational distribution of workers with engineering degrees. Neither gives an exact-specialty match rate.
How older estimates fit—and why they should not be combined
Older studies provide useful context, but their populations, years, and definitions differ:
| Estimate | Population and measure | How to interpret it |
|---|---|---|
| About 55% | Engineering bachelor’s degree holders in the 2017 National Survey of College Graduates (NSCG), estimated by the American Society for Engineering Education as working as engineers. | An older occupational estimate, not a self-reported job-relatedness rate. ASEE analysis |
| Over 57% | Recent engineering graduates working in engineering two years after graduation, as reported in a 2018 National Academies review. | An early-career historical estimate; the share varied by major. The review also reported an average 19% in S&E-related occupations. National Academies, 2018 |
These numbers should not be read as a time trend alongside the 2021 NCSES result: they cover different cohorts and outcomes. The 2017 estimate counts engineering occupations; the 2021 measure asks about the relationship between a recent graduate’s job and highest degree.
Why some engineering graduates take unrelated jobs
A National Academies review of 2010 data looked at early-career engineering bachelor’s graduates who were working in occupations unrelated to their highest degree. Among that group, 44.55% cited not having a job available in their degree field as the primary reason. That is a share of people already working in unrelated occupations, not a share of all engineering graduates. The review also identified changes in career interests, pay or promotion, and job location as other reported reasons; its findings describe that historical cohort, not necessarily current graduates. National Academies, 2018
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What to check when comparing percentages
A headline percentage is meaningful only when its measure and population are clear. Check:
- Outcome: self-reported degree relatedness, a coded engineering occupation, or an exact specialty match.
- Population: recent bachelor’s recipients or all working holders of engineering degrees.
- Career stage: two years after graduation or workers at any point in their careers.
- Degree and discipline: bachelor’s, master’s, or doctorate, and which engineering major.
- Geography and date: the figures here are U.S.-based and refer to different survey years.
NCSES’s 2023 NSCG is a biennial survey of U.S.-residing people with at least a bachelor’s degree who are younger than 76. Its reference period was the week of February 1, 2023, and it was released January 13, 2025. It asks about the relationship between a respondent’s principal job and highest degree; its field categories group detailed majors into broader areas. NCSES 2023 NSCG
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