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

What is a contracted controls engineer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Mike Ozlanski Ph.D.

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a contracted controls engineer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $44.15 an hour? That's $91,831 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 3% and produce 9,800 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a contracted controls engineer?

Mike Ozlanski Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Accounting, Susquehanna University

Technical accounting skills are necessary but not sufficient to thrive in the profession. Young professionals should seek professional development opportunities to enhance their knowledge base for data analytics, artificial intelligence, and digital assets. Knowledge of ESG reporting will also become more important, especially with the new SEC rules about climate-related disclosures.

ScoreContracted Controls EngineerUS Average

Salary

7.2

Avg. Salary $91,831

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.7

Growth rate 3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.18%

Asian 14.29%

Black or African American 4.95%

Hispanic or Latino 11.58%

Unknown 4.73%

White 64.27%

Gender

female 33.28%

male 66.72%

Age - 44

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 - 44

Stress level

5.7

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.3

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.2

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a contracted controls engineer

Explore contracted controls engineer education requirements

Most common contracted controls engineer degrees

Bachelor's

66.8 %

Associate

13.0 %

Master's

11.7 %

Start to develop specific contracted controls engineer skills

Skills	Percentages
Payroll	9.41%
PLC/HMI	7.93%
Control Systems	7.42%
SCADA	5.11%
QC	3.96%

Complete relevant contracted controls engineer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New contracted controls 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 contracted controls engineer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real contracted controls engineer resumes.

Research contracted controls engineer duties and responsibilities

Establish communication links and prepare machines for bench-testing to attain UL certification.
Develop drawing packages (AutoCad).
Patch network connections and troubleshoot Ethernet runs.
Maintain office logistics, assignments and building maintenance.

Get contracted controls engineer experience

Generally, it takes 1-2 years to become a contracted controls engineer. The most common roles before becoming a contracted controls engineer include controller, accounting manager team lead and chief finance officer.

Prepare your contracted controls engineer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your contracted controls 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 contracted controls 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 contracted controls engineer resume templates

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