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

What is a detail engineer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. John Leylegian Ph.D.

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a detail engineer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $39.7 an hour? That's $82,567 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 2% and produce 6,400 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a detail engineer?

Dr. John Leylegian Ph.D.

Associate Professor and Chair, Mechanical Engineering, Manhattan College

The most important skills revolve around computer literacy. Know how to code. Know how to use industry standard software packages... and don't think that if you don't know a particular language or software that it will automatically exclude you from a new position. Engineers should love to learn how to do new things, and switching from one software to another is not a difficult thing. There is a learning curve, but knowing how to interpret results (and to detect garbage in - garbage out situations) is much more important. And find how to incorporate AI into your work. If used smartly and ethically, AI can be a great labor-saving tool. However, know that AI isn't foolproof, and again, be able to properly interpret results from an AI engine to avoid costly mistakes.

ScoreDetail EngineerUS Average

Salary

6.5

Avg. Salary $82,567

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.4

Growth rate 2%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.11%

Asian 10.22%

Black or African American 3.47%

Hispanic or Latino 9.65%

Unknown 4.62%

White 71.93%

Gender

female 12.78%

male 87.22%

Age - 39

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 - 39

Stress level

7.4

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.6

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.1

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a detail engineer

Explore detail engineer education requirements

Most common detail engineer degrees

Bachelor's

53.6 %

Associate

29.2 %

Diploma

5.2 %

Start to develop specific detail engineer skills

Skills	Percentages
Shop Drawings	27.35%
CAD	26.27%
Perform Site Survey	6.88%
Customer Locations	6.46%
Engineering Specifications	5.14%

Complete relevant detail engineer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New detail 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 detail engineer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real detail engineer resumes.

Research detail engineer duties and responsibilities

Manage custom product design & generate all require documentation for both customer and manufacturing groups using AutoCAD rel.
Work with both SONET, and asynchronous network devices.
Require a working knowledge of SONET and DWDM technology.
Use IPPLANNER to assign IPs to new networks deploy for Ethernet hub and speak topology and point to point circuits.

Apply for detail engineer jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a detail 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