Electrical Engineering
Drawn directly from OPM FedScope (June 2026), this page tracks headcount, average salary, tenure, and pay comparison for the Electrical Engineering occupation series (code 0850).
The verdict
In the Engineering and Architecture Group family, Electrical Engineering counts 5,231 employees, a smaller, specialized federal occupation at 0.3% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount declined 0.6% from the prior period; pay averages $142,419, which pays above the federal-wide $117,339.
- Employees
- 5,231
- Share of workforce
- 0.3%
- Avg salary
- $142,419
- Avg tenure
- 13.5 yrs
FedScope read on Electrical Engineering (dense series)
0.3% of the federal civilian workforce (1,953,300 employees total, June 2026) works in the Electrical Engineering occupation (OPM code 0850): 5,231 people, headcount down -0.6% versus the prior period, a useful gauge for job seekers on USAJOBS trying to assess whether this role is expanding government-wide or contracting under hiring freezes and attrition.
Average tenure in Electrical Engineering runs 13.5 years, a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career. Pay averages $142,419 per year, up 0.2% from the prior period, a small shift, within the range of normal year-to-year rounding rather than a broad pay-table change.
The Engineering and Architecture Group family (code 08) groups Electrical Engineering together with 28 other related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Electrical Engineering postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Engineering and Architecture Group family.
Inside the Engineering and Architecture Group family (29 occupations, 120,278 employees combined), Electrical Engineering holds the #8 spot by headcount, a 4.3% share of the family total. Its average salary ranks in the top half (59th percentile) of pay among Engineering and Architecture Group occupations.
Salary context · rich-pay series
How Electrical Engineering pay compares to the federal average of $117,339
Occupation Average
$142,419
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
+21.4%
Where Electrical Engineering ranks on rich federal pay
Its average salary of $142,419 is higher than 84% of federal occupation series (454 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Electrical Engineering sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; Electrical Engineering ranks higher than 84%.
Related Occupations in Engineering and Architecture Group
10 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Engineering | 27,619 | $158,941 | 16.9 yrs |
| Engineering Technical | 14,443 | $93,062 | 15.2 yrs |
| Mechanical Engineering | 12,920 | $136,601 | 11.9 yrs |
| Electronics Engineering | 12,889 | $155,270 | 16.8 yrs |
| Civil Engineering | 10,260 | $124,230 | 14.7 yrs |
| Aerospace Engineering | 8,359 | $155,848 | 14.8 yrs |
| Electronics Technical | 7,298 | $103,713 | 15.6 yrs |
| Computer Engineering | 3,753 | $160,672 | 14.2 yrs |
| Nuclear Engineering | 2,813 | n/a | 13.5 yrs |
| Environmental Engineering | 2,429 | $139,024 | 17 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this dense headcount
Two peer sets for Electrical Engineering outside the Engineering and Architecture Group family, on headcount and average salary axes that vary across all OPM occupation series.
Similar dense headcount
Nearest employee counts in other occupation families (5,231 here).
Similar rich average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($142,419 here).
Key takeaways
- Electrical Engineering pays above the federal average by 21.4% ($142,419 vs $117,339 federal-wide), at the 84th percentile for pay among 541 tracked occupation series.
- A smaller, specialized federal occupation by headcount: 5,231 employees, 0.3% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount declined 0.6% from the prior period.
- According to OPM FedScope June 2026, Electrical Engineering ranks #80 of 663 federal occupation series by headcount (the same employee_count ordering as our occupations directory).
- Inside the Engineering and Architecture Group family (29 occupations, 120,278 employees combined), Electrical Engineering holds the #8 spot by headcount, a 4.3% share of the family total.
OPM FedScope and Federal Workforce Data figures are federal civilian headcounts, average salaries, and length-of-service statistics - not job-quality scores, hiring advice, or a live vacancy listing. A larger or higher-paid agency is not a better employer.