Engineering Technical
Federal headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison for the Engineering Technical occupation series (code 0802), drawn directly from the OPM FedScope dataset (June 2026).
The verdict
With 14,443 employees (0.7% of the federal civilian workforce), Engineering Technical ranks as a mid-sized federal occupation within the Engineering and Architecture Group family, and headcount declined 0.2% from the prior period. Its average salary of $93,062 pays below the $117,339 federal average.
- Employees
- 14,443
- Share of workforce
- 0.7%
- Avg salary
- $93,062
- Avg tenure
- 15.2 yrs
FedScope read on Engineering Technical (dense series)
0.7% of the federal civilian workforce (1,953,300 employees total, June 2026) works in the Engineering Technical occupation (OPM code 0802): 14,443 people, headcount down -0.2% 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.
Engineering Technical pays $93,062 per year on average, moving 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). Employees in this role stay an average of 15.2 years, a long average tenure, typical of career federal roles where employees stay through much of a full career before retirement.
The Engineering and Architecture Group family (code 08) groups Engineering Technical together with 28 other related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Engineering Technical postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Engineering and Architecture Group family.
Within the Engineering and Architecture Group family, Engineering Technical is one of the top 29 occupations by headcount (#2), accounting for 12.0% of the family's combined 120,278 employees. Its average salary ranks in the bottom half (7th percentile) of pay among Engineering and Architecture Group occupations.
Salary Context
How Engineering Technical pay compares to the federal average of $117,339
Occupation Average
$93,062
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-20.7%
Where Engineering Technical ranks on federal pay
Its average salary of $93,062 is higher than 48% of federal occupation series (259 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Engineering Technical sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; Engineering Technical ranks higher than 48%.
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 |
| 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 |
| Electrical Engineering | 5,231 | $142,419 | 13.5 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 Engineering Technical 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 (14,443 here).
Similar average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($93,062 here).
Key takeaways
- Engineering Technical pays below the federal average by 20.7% ($93,062 vs $117,339 federal-wide), at the 48th percentile for pay among 541 tracked occupation series.
- A mid-sized federal occupation by headcount: 14,443 employees, 0.7% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount declined 0.2% from the prior period.
- According to OPM FedScope June 2026, Engineering Technical ranks #33 of 663 federal occupation series by headcount (the same employee_count ordering as our occupations directory).
- Within the Engineering and Architecture Group family, Engineering Technical is one of the top 29 occupations by headcount (#2), accounting for 12.0% of the family's combined 120,278 employees.
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.