Robotics workforce
What a robotics engineer earns: $122,930, and how it compares
$122,930 a year is the median for a robotics engineer, or $59.10 an hour. That is close to double the $64,520 median for the industrial machinery mechanics who keep the same equipment running.
The occupation is small: about 158,800 employed, with roughly 9,300 job openings projected over 2024 to 2034. It sits inside a broader engineering category, which is why searching for it returns such inconsistent numbers.
This page traces the wage, headcount and outlook to the government data behind them, and sets the engineering and maintenance roles side by side so the two are not confused.
Data covers 2025 wage data and 2024 to 2034 projections (BLS, via O*NET). Edited by Mike Ramsey / Reliable Media.
The figures and where they come from
Each figure is rated for how safely you can cite it today. Ratings judge current usability, not whether a number was ever correct.
| Figure | What it is | Source | Citation Confidence | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $122,930 | Robotics engineer, median annual wage | [A] | High | The 2025 median for robotics engineers. This is the figure to cite, with the occupation named. |
| $59.10 | Robotics engineer, median hourly | [A] | High | The same median expressed hourly. |
| 158,800 | Robotics engineers employed | [A] | Medium | Employment in the occupation. Larger than the robotics technician line but far smaller than the maintenance workforce. |
| 9,300 | Projected job openings, 2024 to 2034 | [A] | Medium | As published by O*NET for the 2024 to 2034 period. The source labels it with the ten-year range and does not state an annual figure, so we do not convert it to one. |
| $64,520 | Industrial machinery mechanic, median annual wage | [B] | High | The maintenance occupation that keeps the same equipment running, for comparison. Roughly half the engineering median. |
| 439,600 | Industrial machinery mechanics employed | [B] | Medium | Nearly three times the robotics engineering headcount. The maintenance side is where most robotics-adjacent employment sits. |
| 45,700 | Mechanic openings projected, 2024 to 2034 | [B] | Medium | The same measure for industrial machinery mechanics, roughly five times the engineering figure over the same period. |
Why the numbers disagree
Salary figures for robotics roles vary wildly online because at least three different occupations get called robotics jobs. Robotics engineers sit in an engineering category at a $122,930 median. Robotics technicians sit inside a mechatronics category at about $73,900. Industrial machinery mechanics, who do most hands-on robot maintenance, are at $64,520. Quote any one without naming it and you are roughly doubling or halving the answer.
The pay gap and the job count run in opposite directions. Engineering pays roughly double maintenance, while maintenance employs nearly three times as many people and projects about five times the openings over the same 2024 to 2034 period. A reader asking about money and a reader asking about opportunity need different figures.
None of these is a robotics-only measurement. Each is a broader government occupation that contains robotics work alongside adjacent work, because the statistical system does not break robotics out on its own. That is a limitation of the data rather than a defect in any one figure.
How to cite these figures
Name the occupation with the number. The right form is 'robotics engineers, median $122,930 in 2025 government data,' not 'robotics pays $122,930.'
Pair the wage with the openings figure if the question is career advice. Engineering pays more; maintenance has far more projected openings over the decade.
Note that these are category medians containing robotics work alongside related work, since the statistical system does not isolate robotics.
Use the hourly figure when you need a rate rather than an annual salary. It is the same underlying data.
Where people go wrong
Quoting one robotics salary without saying which occupation. The plausible answers range from about $64,520 to $122,930 depending on the role.
Treating engineer and technician as interchangeable. They are different occupations with roughly a two-to-one pay gap.
Assuming the highest-paying role also has the most openings. Maintenance projects about five times the openings over 2024 to 2034 at roughly half the pay.
Presenting these as robotics-only wages. Each is a broader category that includes adjacent work.
How we checked
Both occupations come from O*NET summaries republishing Bureau of Labor Statistics 2025 wage data and 2024 to 2034 employment projections. We retrieved both pages and confirmed each figure appears in their text.
We cite O*NET rather than the BLS pages directly because the BLS occupational pages block automated verification while O*NET serves the same BLS figures in a form our citation check can fetch and confirm. The numbers are BLS data either way.
We present engineering and maintenance together deliberately. The two are routinely conflated in salary coverage, and the comparison is the part a reader cannot easily assemble.
There is no robotics-only occupation in the government statistical system, so no figure on this page is a pure robotics wage. We say so rather than implying a precision the data does not have.
Full source list
Primary sources, with live links. Every figure above traces to one of these.
- [A]O*NET OnLine (U.S. Department of Labor)Accessed July 2026 (BLS 2025 wage data)
O*NET OnLine, "17-2199.08 Robotics Engineers" (BLS 2025 wage data and 2024-2034 projections)
https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/17-2199.08 - [B]O*NET OnLine (U.S. Department of Labor)Accessed July 2026 (BLS 2025 wage data)
O*NET OnLine, "49-9041.00 Industrial Machinery Mechanics" (BLS 2025 wage data and 2024-2034 projections)
https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/49-9041.00
Common questions
- How much does a robotics engineer make?
- The median is $122,930 a year, or $59.10 an hour, in 2025 government data. That is roughly double the $64,520 median for the industrial machinery mechanics who maintain the same equipment.
- Is robotics engineering a big field?
- Not especially. About 158,800 are employed with roughly 9,300 openings projected over 2024 to 2034, against 439,600 industrial machinery mechanics and 45,700 projected openings.
- Which robotics job has the most opportunities?
- Maintenance. Industrial machinery mechanics project about five times the openings of robotics engineering over 2024 to 2034, at roughly half the median pay.
- Why do robotics salary figures vary so much online?
- Because at least three occupations get called robotics jobs: engineers at about $122,930, robotics technicians at about $73,900, and industrial machinery mechanics at $64,520. Figures quoted without the occupation are close to meaningless.
More data, traced to source
- What a robotics technician actually earns, and why the wage is hard to find
There is no federal wage line for a robotics technician. The government folds the job into a broader category with a median near $73,900 a year. This page shows where that number comes from and what it does and does not cover.
- Who keeps the robots running, and what they earn: $64,520
The people who keep factory robots and machinery running are industrial machinery mechanics: 439,600 of them, a median of $64,520 a year, in a field growing much faster than average. A different, larger job than 'robotics technician.'
- Will automation wipe out factory jobs? BLS projects a 1% decline
Against the automation-apocalypse narrative, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects US production jobs to decline just 1.0% over its latest 10-year horizon, while total employment grows 4.0%. The official projection, traced to source.