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Job outlook for pcb designers in the United States
Pcb designer job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected pcb designer job growth rate is 3% from 2018-2028.
About 9,800 new jobs for pcb designers are projected over the next decade.
Pcb designer salaries have increased 8% for pcb designers in the last 5 years.
There are over 10,437 pcb designers currently employed in the United States.
There are 72,971 active pcb designer job openings in the US.
The average pcb designer salary is $74,841.
Are pcb designer jobs in demand?
Pcb designer job and salary trends over time
Pcb designer jobs over time
Pcb designer job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 10,437 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 11,648 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 12,231 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 12,653 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 13,083 | 0.00% |
Average pcb designer salary over time
Pcb designer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $74,841 | $35.98 | +1.9% |
| 2025 | $73,470 | $35.32 | +2.8% |
| 2024 | $71,473 | $34.36 | +0.5% |
| 2023 | $71,111 | $34.19 | +3.0% |
| 2022 | $69,044 | $33.19 | +1.0% |
Pcb designer jobs by state
Most common states for pcb designers
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 219 | 32% |
| 2 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 1,097 | 16% |
| 3 | Washington | 7,405,743 | 980 | 13% |
| 4 | Oregon | 4,142,776 | 522 | 13% |
| 5 | Virginia | 8,470,020 | 1,018 | 12% |
| 6 | Utah | 3,101,833 | 358 | 12% |
| 7 | California | 39,536,653 | 4,216 | 11% |
| 8 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 604 | 10% |
| 9 | Colorado | 5,607,154 | 542 | 10% |
| 10 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 530 | 10% |
| 11 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 132 | 10% |
| 12 | Georgia | 10,429,379 | 915 | 9% |
| 13 | Arizona | 7,016,270 | 602 | 9% |
| 14 | Iowa | 3,145,711 | 281 | 9% |
| 15 | Michigan | 9,962,311 | 752 | 8% |
| 16 | Wisconsin | 5,795,483 | 490 | 8% |
| 17 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 80 | 8% |
| 18 | New York | 19,849,399 | 1,354 | 7% |
| 19 | Alabama | 4,874,747 | 326 | 7% |
| 20 | New Mexico | 2,088,070 | 153 | 7% |
Most common cities for pcb designers
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dedham | 1 | 4% | $77,860 |
| 2 | Torrance | 3 | 2% | $95,610 |
| 3 | Coeur dAlene | 1 | 2% | $55,542 |
| 4 | Cupertino | 1 | 2% | $105,576 |
| 5 | Redmond | 1 | 2% | $84,413 |
| 6 | Irvine | 2 | 1% | $94,995 |
| 7 | Southfield | 1 | 1% | $73,957 |
| 8 | Tempe | 1 | 1% | $71,639 |
| 9 | Albuquerque | 1 | 0% | $77,523 |
| 10 | Riverside | 1 | 0% | $95,348 |
| 11 | Saint Paul | 1 | 0% | $54,858 |
PCB Designer job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of pcb designer experts
Gonzaga University
Stevens Institute of Technology
Old Dominion University
Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Temple University
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
Wright State University
What PCB Designer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Steven Schennum Ph.D. P.E.: The most important skill is the ability to learn new things, and especially to unlearn things you “know” after evidence demonstrates that these things are not true. Learn how to analyze information. Your intuition, simulations, and results should all be in alignment. If they are not, then dig deeper. Learn the terminology and jargon specific to your company and your projects. Spend time reading. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be intimidated by new software.
What PCB Designer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Min Song: Communication skills and innovative thinking skills. As emerging technologies continue to be complex and multidisciplinary, it’s important to be able to communicate with professionals in diverse disciplines. Taking robotics, for example, the electrical engineer must be able to work with mechanical and biomechanical engineers, computer engineers, software engineers, artificial intelligence experts, cognitive scientists, system engineers, etc. A person will be able to generate innovative ideas only if the person has a complete and comprehensive understanding of the entire system and can work well with other individuals with a range of expertise.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on PCB Designers?
Michel Audette Ph.D.: My take on this is what I've seen with my wife's work in industry, which suggests that the industrial landscape is going to be increasingly equipped for, and open to, remote work. I think that the implication for graduates is that they may need to be flexible about working within a geographically distributed team. If company deciders feel that someone is worth employing because of a unique skill set, then they would typically be more willing to hire that person even if unable to make it to work regularly, if that is feasible given the nature of the work; some work, such as hardware testing or industrial production, may not lend itself to remote contributions.
Nonetheless, for those areas that accommodate geographically distributed activity, such as software development, graduates can expect to interact with team members all over the US, possibly all over the world, if someone is deemed unique enough to hire despite living abroad. This places a high premium on the ability and willingness to work in a heterogeneous team, where not only will members look different, but also have myriad accents in their English, which will also impose a certain adaptability and tolerance to team members.
A related impact could also be that global hiring will make it easier for multi-national companies to hire a portion of their talent in countries where wages are lower and motivate US-based engineers to seek out graduate degrees in order to increase their competitiveness and employability at US salaries.
What type of skills will young PCB Designers need?
Michel Audette Ph.D.: One skill that is timeless is the ability to communicate effectively, such as taking a complex design process and distilling it into intuitive slides or reports that lend themselves for senior managers to process in order to come to a decision. An engineer who has that ability will always have some tools in his/her toolbox that makes that individual attractive to a company and to the local technical ecosystem, thus a ripe target for headhunters who willing to champion them to companies looking for top talent. Moreover, speaking and writing well also comes with a vital component of diplomacy, especially in the context of increasingly distributed company workforce: the ability not just to get on with colleagues from different parts of the world, increasingly heterogeneous in terms of gender and possibly sexual preference, but embrace them for who they are. This is often maps to opportunities to travel, as some collaborations lead to meetings face to face, post-covid.
This embrace of heterogeneity is even more relevant in that technical problems being solved are increasingly multi-disciplinary, so that an engineer may need to interact with biologists, physicians, clothing or furniture designers, mathematicians, lawyers, and so on: in my own case, I have to wear a multitude of different hats, while recognizing someone who is a perfect fit for one of those hats when I meet that individual, and making the most of that opportunity to build a truly competent team. Engineers must be able to hold a meaningful, respectful conversation with any of these counterparts, not just discuss code or circuit design. I would advocate that they spend time reading, to maintain their vocabulary and stay abreast of the world around them.
Another one that I advocate is the ability to tap into a revolution that has occurred in parallel with the advent of Internet and cellular technologies, these past 30+ years: the explosion of open-source software tools. I am a committed proponent of open source, as a former contributor to them while previously employed at Kitware (a pioneer in this area, behind VTK, ITK, CMake, and myriad others). I see job ads in Indeed.com that specifically ask for the ability to work with these tools, since they save work and make it possible to produce a prototype in much less time than developing it completely in-house. This ability does not just presuppose the ability to program at a competent level, but other abilities: the ability to track bugs that not be in the calling program, but in the open-source software library itself, the willingness to get answers in the community of developers, the eye for details that extends to graphical processor units that result in accelerations an order of magnitude or better, and so on. These go way beyond writing a self-contained algorithm. Hardware designers may also have similar tools, based on broad standards, Arduino, and the prevalence of 3D printers that make it possible to physically replicate digital models.
Finally, a vital skill is the willingness and ability to keep learning, while embracing revolutions that take place at breathtaking pace. The latest one is the reliance on deep neural networks (DNNs) to synthesize algorithms that can learn and adapt to their data, with much faster performances than feasible with the previous algorithms that DNNs have replaced. The point to make here is not to embrace neural networks in a proximal sense, but that we cannot anticipate what will come next, downstream of DNNs. Graduates of 2021 have to be willing to keep their curiosity and work ethic enough to be responsive to the next wave of technologies, and embrace them for the opportunities that they represent.
What general advice would you give to a PCB Designer?
Abby Guido: We've all heard the buzz about networking, and there is so much buzz because it works. Make sure your LinkedIn profile is both up to date and active. Connect with all of your past professors, classmates, and anyone and everyone you meet in a professional setting. I often tell students to get into the habit of searching for any classroom guests, or guest lecturers, to connect, thank them for their time, and build their network. Share content. Write articles, or reshare those you find interesting.
Every job I have ever received in my career has been through someone else I know. I share this with students to help them see the value in relationships. I always remember the students that took the time to write a handwritten thank-you note. And I think of them when I get an email asking if I know any students are looking for work.
Robert Saunders P.E.
Assistant Department HeadUniversity of Arkansas, Fayetteville
Electrical Engineering Department
What general advice would you give to a PCB Designer?
Robert Saunders P.E.: The job market for an electrical engineering student coming out of college is challenging right now. Many companies are still hiring electrical engineering students but, the students can't be as finicky about what jobs they are accepting. More than half of the students are starting their new jobs working remotely, which is a large shift from normal but the companies seem to be using this time to bring the new hires up to speed on policy, procedures, and industry regulations.
What general advice would you give to a PCB Designer?
Fred Garber Ph.D.: I think the primary question, in the minds of those who are yet to graduate or are still searching, is in regard to the strength of the technical job market, especially the local job market. But you are in a position to definitively answer that question.
In you article, I would ask that you address the following:
Number of employers looking to fill and number of job offerings in the region (by engineering and computer science major) compared to last year and to the previous five years.
Any noticeable differences in job descriptions Zippia is receiving relative to work environment, benefits, starting salaries, etc.
Many of our soon-to-graduate students would be very interested in these quantitative and qualitative comparisons. Additionally, vast numbers of potential students would benefit from such information to guide their career choices.