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

What is a requirements engineer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Maryam Farahani

A requirements engineer can work either in physical engineering or a software engineering project. In both cases, they work closely with project managers and clients in identifying specific deliverables and demands of a project, especially the specifications, timeline, and budget allotment.

They work on documents such as the terms of references, project management briefs, and project design. To be able to accomplish these tasks, a requirements engineer needs to have a good grasp of technical writing and translating clients' needs into a working document.

The academic qualifications of a requirements engineer vary from industry to industry. Those who are working in construction and physical engineering must have at least a bachelor's degree in engineering, business, or related fields. On the other hand, a requirements engineer who works in the computer sciences industry is expected to have at least a bachelor's degree in computer science, software engineering, or a similar field of expertise.

When it comes to soft skills, a requirements engineer is required to have good communication skills, problem-solving skills, and team spirit.

What general advice would you give to a requirements engineer?

Maryam Farahani

Engineering Instructor, Bakersfield College

Thinking about the fields they want to experience or try. And to be intentional about their job search. The best advice is learning as much as they can about what company offers. Visualizing themselves in the next 5 years as a starting point. Do they want to travel a lot, or be in management positions? Do they want to be subject matter expert, or a hands-on engineer or technologist? Their goal may change as they progress in their career but having one makes a big difference in their career choices and keeping them on track.

ScoreRequirements EngineerUS Average

Salary

6.8

Avg. Salary $87,170

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

4.0

Growth rate 21%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.17%

Asian 29.82%

Black or African American 4.57%

Hispanic or Latino 8.33%

Unknown 4.84%

White 52.28%

Gender

female 35.48%

male 64.52%

Age - 38

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 - 38

Stress level

4.0

Stress level is moderate

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.9

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.6

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a requirements engineer

Explore requirements engineer education requirements

Most common requirements engineer degrees

Bachelor's

63.5 %

Master's

24.3 %

Associate

6.1 %

Start to develop specific requirements engineer skills

Skills	Percentages
Java	83.48%
Software Development	1.70%
PowerPoint	1.49%
Project Management	1.28%
Infrastructure	1.13%

Complete relevant requirements engineer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New requirements 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 requirements engineer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real requirements engineer resumes.

Research requirements engineer duties and responsibilities

Lead deployment of ClearQuest for UUNet.
Lead the requirements effort for several projects release to the FDA.
Lead acceptance test plan and procedure development in a UNIX environment.
Assist the scrum master to manage resources and facilitate for the team.

Apply for requirements engineer jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a requirements 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

How do requirements engineers rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Requirements engineer reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2020

Cons

very little

A zippia user wrote a review on Jul 2019

Cons

HR compliance and accounting auditing , quarterly budgeting rather than Annual as previously accepted. Wallstreet insistence on more frequent projections

Pros

Challenge, satisfaction of problem resolution and working with team

A zippia user wrote a review on Apr 2019

Cons

Too much detail oriented

What is a requirements engineer and how to become one

What general advice would you give to a requirements engineer?

Requirements engineer career paths

Key steps to become a requirements engineer

Explore requirements engineer education requirements

Most common requirements engineer degrees

Start to develop specific requirements engineer skills

Complete relevant requirements engineer training and internships

Research requirements engineer duties and responsibilities

Apply for requirements engineer jobs

How did you land your first requirements engineer job

Average requirements engineer salary

How do requirements engineers rate their job?

Requirements engineer reviews

Requirements engineer jobs by state