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Manufacturing Engineers vs Materials Engineers

Side-by-side · O*NET · BLS · AI-exposure research · Anthropic Economic Index

A factual, source-backed comparison of Manufacturing Engineers and Materials Engineers on the dimensions both occupations carry. Every figure is a position within an independent published dataset — not a verdict on which job is better, safer, or more “future-proof.”

Manufacturing Engineers Materials Engineers
Median pay · BLS OEWS
$101,140
$108,310
Employment · BLS OEWS
350,230
22,770
AI exposure (percentile) · task overlap, not automation
81st pct
62nd pct

At a glance

Dimension Manufacturing Engineers Materials Engineers
Median pay $101,140 $108,310
Employment 350,230 22,770
Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection Growing fast (+11.0%) About average (+5.7%)
Annual openings · BLS projection 25,200 1,500
Typical education · O*NET Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
AI exposure · published exposure studies High · 81st pct Moderate · 62nd pct
Global GenAI gradient · ILO ISCO-08 · via crosswalk 68th pct · 37% of tasks 56th pct · 30% of tasks
Observed AI use · Anthropic Economic Index — —
Mostly remote-capable · Dingel–Neiman Yes No

Pay and employment are BLS OEWS estimates; outlook and openings are BLS 2024–2034 projections; AI exposure and observed-use figures come from separate research and reflect exposure and usage, not predictions that either job will disappear. Compare like with like.

Skills

Shared: Production and Processing, Engineering and Technology, Reading Comprehension, Mathematics, Complex Problem Solving, Design, Oral Comprehension, Problem Sensitivity, Deductive Reasoning, Inductive Reasoning, Category Flexibility, Visualization, Near Vision, Mathematics, Active Listening, Speaking, Monitoring, Judgment and Decision Making, Written Comprehension, Oral Expression, Information Ordering, Computers and Electronics, English Language, Writing, Critical Thinking, Mathematical Reasoning, Active Learning, Written Expression, Fluency of Ideas, Originality, Flexibility of Closure, Speech Recognition.

Specific to Manufacturing Engineers

  • Mechanical
  • Operations Monitoring
  • Systems Analysis
  • Systems Evaluation
  • Number Facility
  • Technology Design
  • Troubleshooting
  • Time Management

Specific to Materials Engineers

  • Chemistry
  • Physics
  • Science
  • Perceptual Speed
  • Speech Clarity
  • Instructing
  • Service Orientation
  • Operations Analysis

Knowledge, skills & abilities O*NET rates as important for each occupation. “Shared” are common to both; the columns list what is distinctive to each (top by the order O*NET surfaces).

Tools & technology

Shared: Computer aided design CAD software , Spreadsheet software , Office suite software , Presentation software , Enterprise resource planning ERP software , Development environment software , Data base user interface and query software , Electronic mail software , Document management software , Process mapping and design software , Word processing software , Object or component oriented development software , Analytical or scientific software , Computer aided manufacturing CAM software , Internet browser software .

Specific to Manufacturing Engineers

Specific to Materials Engineers

Full profiles

This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Manufacturing Engineers or Materials Engineers — tasks, the full skill graph, tools, work context, preparation, wages by percentile, industries, AI exposure and the AI work map.

More comparisons

Related occupations you can place side by side on the same sourced scale.

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

Cite this page
Plain

Singulariki. "Manufacturing Engineers vs Materials Engineers." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/compare/manufacturing-engineers-vs-materials-engineers

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Manufacturing Engineers vs Materials Engineers. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/compare/manufacturing-engineers-vs-materials-engineers

BibTeX 
@misc{singulariki-manufacturing-engineers-vs-materials-engineers,
  title  = {Manufacturing Engineers vs Materials Engineers},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/compare/manufacturing-engineers-vs-materials-engineers}
}

Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.