Wind Energy Engineers: Job Description
Design underground or overhead wind farm collector systems and prepare and develop site specifications.
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What Do Wind Energy Engineers Take On?
Typical responsibilities of wind energy engineers span:
- Create or maintain wind farm layouts, schematics, or other visual documentation for wind farms.
- Recommend process or infrastructure changes to improve wind turbine performance, reduce operational costs, or comply with regulations.
- Create models to optimize the layout of wind farm access roads, crane pads, crane paths, collection systems, substations, switchyards, or transmission lines.
Key Skills and Knowledge
Effective wind energy engineers combine a mix of skills and domain knowledge.
Most Important Skills
The abilities most important for this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:
Top Knowledge Areas
Types of Wind Energy Engineers Jobs
People in this occupation may also be known by titles such as:
- Engineer
- Project Engineer
- SCADA Engineer (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition)
- Turbine Engineer
- Turbine Measurements Engineer
- Utility Engineer
- Wind Energy Consultant
- Wind Energy Engineer
Job Outlook
There are roughly 313,540 wind energy engineers working in the United States today. Employment is projected to grow by +12.7% over the projection horizon.
Salary for Wind Energy Engineers
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Annual median | $98,460 |
| Hourly median | $47.34 |
| 10th percentile | $59,125 |
| 25th percentile | $78,793 |
| 75th percentile | $118,128 |
| 90th percentile | $137,795 |
Wages vary widely based on experience, location, and industry.
How Much Do Wind Energy Engineers Make in Different U.S. States?
| State | Annual median salary |
|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $167,270 |
| Alabama | $146,480 |
| New Mexico | $142,520 |
| Virginia | $142,110 |
| Wyoming | $139,010 |
| Maryland | $135,990 |
| Alaska | $132,410 |
| Massachusetts | $132,020 |
| New Jersey | $131,960 |
| Rhode Island | $131,830 |
| Idaho | $131,390 |
| California | $128,830 |
| Oregon | $125,920 |
| Colorado | $125,330 |
| Washington | $125,080 |
| Hawaii | $120,330 |
| Connecticut | $119,220 |
| New Hampshire | $118,630 |
| South Carolina | $117,980 |
| Minnesota | $116,660 |
| Texas | $115,950 |
| Georgia | $115,790 |
| Maine | $114,610 |
| Ohio | $113,880 |
| New York | $113,380 |
| Utah | $113,290 |
| Mississippi | $112,100 |
| Oklahoma | $111,230 |
| Vermont | $110,640 |
| Arizona | $110,160 |
| Illinois | $109,380 |
| Wisconsin | $107,400 |
| North Carolina | $106,960 |
| Indiana | $106,040 |
| Florida | $103,920 |
| Michigan | $103,800 |
| Pennsylvania | $103,580 |
| West Virginia | $103,400 |
| Nevada | $101,660 |
| Iowa | $100,200 |
| Tennessee | $97,990 |
| Louisiana | $95,550 |
| Missouri | $93,020 |
| Kentucky | $89,650 |
| Guam | $89,440 |
| North Dakota | $88,100 |
| Montana | $87,130 |
| Delaware | $85,530 |
| South Dakota | $82,970 |
| Nebraska | $76,910 |
| Arkansas | $75,000 |
| Kansas | $69,210 |
| Puerto Rico | $58,710 |
Top-Paying U.S. Regions
Compensation for wind energy engineers differ across the country. Top regions by median wage:
| Region | Median annual wage | Share of U.S. jobs | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Far Western US | $127,455 | 22.6% | 1.41 |
| Middle Atlantic | $127,069 | 15.3% | 1.60 |
| New England | $124,655 | 4.3% | 0.92 |
| Rocky Mountains | $120,932 | 3.4% | 0.87 |
| Southwest | $117,599 | 10.1% | 0.89 |
| Southeast | $111,896 | 28.2% | 1.65 |
| Great Lakes | $108,385 | 12.1% | 1.08 |
| Plains States | $95,614 | 3.6% | 0.55 |
Top Metro Areas
| Metro area | State | Median annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | DC | $162,610 | 7,950 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | CA | $157,770 | 3,490 |
| Lexington Park, MD | MD | $157,330 | 1,090 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | CA | $156,140 | 5,060 |
| Charlottesville, VA | VA | $152,840 | 70 |
| Wilmington, NC | NC | $148,580 | 90 |
| Huntsville, AL | AL | $148,430 | 3,120 |
| Albuquerque, NM | NM | $143,050 | 1,080 |
Which Industries Hire Wind Energy Engineers
The bulk of wind energy engineers work in these industries:
| Industry | Employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 37,330 | $112,040 |
| Manufacturing | 36,850 | $107,590 |
| Wholesale Trade | 6,470 | $103,760 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 6,030 | $95,040 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 5,210 | $122,930 |
| Information | 3,800 | $159,700 |
| Construction | 3,520 | $81,570 |
| Utilities | 2,970 | $118,630 |
The table below shows some of the most common industries where those employed in this career field work.
Software Wind Energy Engineers Use
- Data base user interface and query software: Amazon Web Services AWS software (hot technology)
- File versioning software: Apache Subversion SVN (hot technology)
- Computer aided design CAD software: Autodesk AutoCAD (hot technology)
- Computer aided design CAD software: Bentley MicroStation (hot technology)
- Object or component oriented development software: C# (hot technology)
- Object or component oriented development software: C++ (hot technology)
- Computer aided design CAD software: Dassault Systemes SolidWorks (hot technology)
- Geographic information system: ESRI ArcGIS software (hot technology)
- Enterprise application integration software: Extensible markup language XML (hot technology)
- File versioning software: Git (hot technology)
- Program testing software: JUnit (hot technology)
- Operating system software: Linux (hot technology)
The Day-to-Day Environment
Daily working conditions for wind energy engineers is shaped by the following characteristics:
- Spend Time Sitting
- Telephone Conversations
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams
- Determine Tasks, Priorities and Goals
How to Become Wind Energy Engineers
Most wind energy engineers positions require a bachelor’s degree as the typical entry-level education. This occupation sits in Considerable Preparation Needed (Job Zone 4), reflecting the level of preparation typically expected.
Other Careers to Consider
Similar Occupations
- Geothermal Production Managers (Supplemental)
- Biomass Power Plant Managers (Supplemental)
- Hydroelectric Production Managers (Supplemental)
- Wind Energy Operations Managers (Supplemental)
- Wind Energy Development Managers (Primary-Short)
- Aerospace Engineers (Primary-Long)
- Civil Engineers (Primary-Long)
- Water/Wastewater Engineers (Primary-Long)
Degree Programs
Future wind energy engineers typically earn programs in:
Engineering
29 programs across 24 majors
- General Engineering
- Systems Engineering
- Other Engineering
- Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Robotics Engineering
- Construction Engineering
- Engineering Science
- Architectural Engineering
- Engineering Physics
- Manufacturing Engineering
- Biological Engineering
- Electrical Engineering
- Geoscience Engineering
- Chemical Engineering
- Ocean Engineering
- Engineering Mechanics
- Energy Systems Engineering
- Biochemical Engineering
- Surveying Engineering
- Civil Engineering
- Electromechanical Engineering
- Forest Engineering
- Paper Science & Engineering
- Engineering Chemistry
Engineering Technologies and Engineering-Related Fields
2 programs across 2 majors
Health Professions and Related Programs
1 programs across 1 majors
Sources
This profile draws on the following authoritative sources:
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
- BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
- O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.
SOC code: 17-2199.10 (Engineers, All Other).
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