General Engineering
Drawn directly from OPM FedScope (June 2026), this page tracks headcount, average salary, tenure, and pay comparison for the General Engineering occupation series (code 0801).
The verdict
With 27,619 employees (1.4% of the federal civilian workforce), General Engineering ranks as a major federal occupation within the Engineering and Architecture Group family, and headcount declined 7.1% from the prior period. Its average salary of $158,941 pays well above the $117,339 federal average.
- Employees
- 27,619
- Share of workforce
- 1.4%
- Avg salary
- $158,941
- Avg tenure
- 16.9 yrs
FedScope read on General Engineering (dense series)
As of the June 2026 reporting window, 27,619 people work in the General Engineering occupation (OPM code 0801) across federal agencies, 1.4% of the 1,953,300-strong federal civilian workforce. Headcount moved down by -7.1% from 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.
General Engineering pays $158,941 per year on average, moving up 0.1% 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 16.9 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 General Engineering together with 28 other related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for General Engineering postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Engineering and Architecture Group family.
Within the Engineering and Architecture Group family, General Engineering is the single largest occupation by headcount, accounting for 23.0% of the family's combined 120,278 employees. Its average salary ranks in the top half (89th percentile) of pay among Engineering and Architecture Group occupations.
Salary context · rich-pay series
How General Engineering pay compares to the federal average of $117,339
Occupation Average
$158,941
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
+35.5%
Where General Engineering ranks on rich federal pay
Its average salary of $158,941 is higher than 94% of federal occupation series (506 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where General Engineering sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; General Engineering ranks higher than 94%.
Related Occupations in Engineering and Architecture Group
10 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 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 General 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 (27,619 here).
Similar rich average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($158,941 here).
Key takeaways
- General Engineering pays well above the federal average by 35.5% ($158,941 vs $117,339 federal-wide), at the 94th percentile for pay among 541 tracked occupation series.
- A major federal occupation by headcount: 27,619 employees, 1.4% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount declined 7.1% from the prior period.
- According to OPM FedScope June 2026, General Engineering ranks #15 of 663 federal occupation series by headcount (the same employee_count ordering as our occupations directory).
- Within the Engineering and Architecture Group family, General Engineering is the single largest occupation by headcount, accounting for 23.0% 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.