Controls engineering is one of the most overlooked yet resilient engineering careers available today. If you are weighing your options and want a role that pays well, stays relevant as automation expands, and offers genuine technical challenge, this field deserves a serious look.
At Apollo Technical, we connect engineering talent with top employers daily. Based on what we see in the market, controls engineers are in consistent demand across manufacturing, oil and gas, aerospace, automotive, and increasingly in robotics and AI-driven automation. The talent gap in this field is real, and it works in your favor as a job seeker.
Here is everything you need to know before committing to this career path.
What Do Controls Engineers Actually Do?
A controls engineer designs, programs, and maintains the automated systems that keep industrial equipment running correctly and efficiently. Think of every factory floor, power plant, or automated assembly line: someone built the logic that tells those machines what to do, how fast to run, when to stop, and how to recover from errors. That person is a controls engineer.
Day-to-day responsibilities typically include programming PLCs (Programmable Logic Controllers), designing HMI (Human-Machine Interface) screens, configuring SCADA systems, commissioning new equipment, and troubleshooting process failures. You will often work across mechanical, electrical, and software domains, which makes the role dynamic and hard to automate away.
Is Controls Engineering in Demand Right Now?
Yes, and the data backs it up clearly. As of late 2025, over 89,500 controls engineer jobs are listed on Glassdoor alone. Zippia reports more than 133,220 active job openings for control systems engineers across the United States.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 7 percent job growth for electrical engineers between 2024 and 2034, translating to roughly 17,500 openings per year in that occupational group. The broader architecture and engineering field is expected to generate over 186,000 job openings annually through 2034, growing faster than the average for all occupations.
The demand signal is clear: companies are automating aggressively, and they need engineers who can build and maintain those systems.
Why Is There a Skills Shortage in Controls Engineering?
The 2025 Control Engineering Career and Salary Survey identified lack of skilled workers as one of the two leading threats to manufacturing businesses, tied with the broader economy at 38 percent each. This shortage is partly generational: experienced controls engineers are retiring faster than new ones are entering the field. For job seekers, this imbalance is a significant advantage when negotiating salary and job offers.
How Much Do Controls Engineers Make?
Compensation is strong and improving year over year. Here is what the data shows:
The 2025 Control Engineering Salary Survey found average salaries rose to $119,682, up from $114,771 in 2024 and $111,345 in 2023. That represents consistent 3 to 4 percent annual salary growth, with average bonuses hitting $18,595 in 2025.
According to Glassdoor via Coursera, the median total compensation for a controls engineer in the U.S. is $125,000 per year, with a full range of $103,000 to $154,000 when bonuses and additional pay are included.
Entry-level controls engineers can expect to start around $65,000 to $71,000, while senior professionals with deep automation expertise regularly exceed $150,000. In high-cost metros like Palo Alto, Seattle, and Austin, total compensation climbs even higher.
How Does Controls Engineer Pay Compare to Other Engineers?
The U.S. average wage across all occupations sits around $49,500 per year. Controls engineers earn more than double that figure. Even at the entry level, this career puts you well above the national median. With five to ten years of experience and specialty skills in PLCs, robotics, or AI-driven control systems, you move into the top tier of engineering compensation without necessarily needing a management title.
What Industries Hire Controls Engineers?
Controls engineers work across a broad range of sectors, which provides career flexibility and job security. You are not locked into one industry.
The most active hiring sectors include manufacturing (automotive, food and beverage, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals), oil and gas, aerospace and defense, energy and utilities, and increasingly robotics and warehouse automation. RealPars notes that industries from automobile manufacturing to pharmaceutical plants to warehouse logistics are deploying more automated systems than ever, driving sustained demand for controls professionals.
Building automation is also emerging as a fast-growing niche. As sustainability mandates tighten and smart building technology advances, controls engineers who understand HVAC automation, energy management systems, and AI-driven building controls are finding strong opportunities in commercial real estate and construction.
Is Controls Engineering AI-Proof?
This is one of the most common questions people ask on Reddit and in engineering forums, and it deserves a direct answer.
Controls engineering is among the safer engineering disciplines when it comes to AI disruption. The reason is hands-on, physical reality. AI excels at pattern recognition and data analysis but cannot replace an engineer who needs to stand on a factory floor, interpret sensor anomalies in real time, modify physical control panels, and commission machinery in complex industrial environments. The role requires judgment under uncertainty in physical systems, which is a domain where human engineers still have a decisive edge.
In fact, AI is actively creating more demand for controls engineers, not less. The 2025 Control Engineering survey found AI and machine learning moved to the top spot among technologies most likely to help professionals in the coming year, jumping from third place in 2024. Controls engineers who learn to integrate AI and ML into automation systems are becoming more valuable, not less relevant.
The BLS projects more than 186,000 new architecture and engineering jobs to open each year through 2034, growing faster than the average for all occupations, even as AI adoption accelerates across industries.
What Are the Downsides of a Controls Engineering Career?
No career is perfect, and being clear-eyed about the tradeoffs helps you make a good decision.
Controls engineers often work on-site at industrial facilities, which means a lot of travel, shift work during plant shutdowns, and time in environments that are loud, hot, or physically demanding. Remote work is limited compared to software engineering roles, though the 2025 survey found that 70 percent of respondents performed some work remotely, with 16 percent working more than 80 percent remotely.
The learning curve is steep. You need working knowledge of electrical theory, PLC programming, process control, instrumentation, and often mechanical systems. Keeping up with evolving platforms from Siemens, Rockwell Automation, and Schneider requires continuous education. Certifications like the ISA Certified Automation Professional (CAP) or Certified Control Systems Technician (CCST) help you stay current and command higher pay.
Project timelines can be stressful, particularly during plant commissioning phases where delays cost companies real money and pressure falls on the controls team to resolve issues quickly.
What Skills Do You Need to Succeed in Controls Engineering?
Technical Skills That Employers Want Most
The most in-demand technical skills for controls engineers in 2026 and beyond include PLC programming (Rockwell, Siemens, Mitsubishi), SCADA and HMI development, process instrumentation, motion control and servo systems, industrial networking and communications protocols (Modbus, EtherNet/IP, OPC-UA), and increasingly, Python and data analytics for integration with AI-driven systems.
According to Research.com’s automation engineering guide, employers are increasingly seeking professionals who combine classical control systems expertise with modern software development skills. Engineers who can bridge the gap between legacy industrial systems and newer digital platforms are commanding top compensation.
Soft Skills That Actually Matter
Beyond the technical side, controls engineers who advance quickly tend to be strong communicators. You will regularly translate complex automation problems for plant managers, maintenance teams, and executives who have no engineering background. Project management skills, the ability to work under deadline pressure during commissioning, and comfort working in cross-functional teams are consistently cited by hiring managers as differentiators.
How Do You Get Into Controls Engineering?
Most controls engineering positions require a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, mechatronics, or a closely related field. Some employers hire candidates from technical programs or community college automation courses if they have strong hands-on PLC and instrumentation experience.
A master’s degree meaningfully increases earning potential. One expert quoted by Zippia noted that choosing an affordable master’s program pays off within a few years through higher starting salaries and dramatically improved long-term earning potential. Engineers with graduate degrees also appear at C-level positions in industrial companies with notable frequency.
Practical experience matters enormously in this field. Internships, co-op programs, and hands-on projects with actual PLC hardware set candidates apart from those with only theoretical knowledge. Building a personal lab with a small PLC and practicing ladder logic programming is a well-known path used by career changers breaking into the field.
Quick Q&A: Controls Engineering Career Questions Answered
Is controls engineering a good career for someone who likes hands-on work? Yes. This is one of the few engineering roles that consistently keeps you engaged with physical systems. You will design in an office and commission in the field, giving you variety that pure software roles do not offer.
Can you work remotely as a controls engineer? Partially. Design and programming work can often be done remotely, but commissioning, startup, and troubleshooting are inherently on-site. Hybrid arrangements are increasingly common.
Is controls engineering better than software engineering for job security? Both are strong, but controls engineering has a physical systems moat that makes it more resistant to full automation. Software roles offer more remote flexibility and often higher ceiling pay in tech companies, but controls engineers face less direct competition from offshore labor and AI tools.
What is the biggest career mistake controls engineers make? Staying in one platform niche too long. Engineers who only know one PLC brand or one industry segment can find themselves less competitive. Broadening your platform exposure and picking up programming languages like Python makes you significantly more hireable.
How long does it take to become a senior controls engineer? Most engineers reach a senior level after five to eight years of field experience. Accelerators include working in commissioning-heavy roles, earning ISA certifications, and building expertise in high-demand niches like robotics or pharmaceutical process control.
The Bottom Line: Is Controls Engineering Worth It?
Controls engineering is a good career by almost any professional measure. Salaries are well above average and growing consistently. Demand is high and backed by structural trends in industrial automation, robotics, and smart manufacturing. The work is technically challenging and difficult to outsource or automate away. Work-life balance, which topped the job satisfaction rankings in the 2025 salary survey, is achievable in most roles.
The tradeoffs are real: travel, on-site requirements, continuous learning demands, and the pressure of commissioning timelines. But for engineers who enjoy problem-solving in physical environments and want a career with genuine long-term staying power, controls engineering delivers.
If you are willing to invest in your skills and stay current with automation technology, this field will reward you well for the foreseeable future.
Looking for a Controls engineering or need a controls engineer for your next project? Reach out to the controls engineering recruiters at Apollo Technical.
