Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
1 / 46#46. Surveying and mapping technicians
- Median annual wage: $46,230
- Median hourly wage: $22.23
- Total employment: 120 people (0.16 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying computer and engineering jobs in Providence
What do we mean when we talk about computer and engineering jobs? Well, that depends. These positions encompass various roles dedicated to new technology development and maintenance. Take software developers, who create and oversee computer programs, versus mechanical engineers, who design and build physical products, tools, and systems. However different these careers may be, though, they do have a few things in common: bachelor's degree requirements, a focus on analytical thinking, and the allure of a steady paycheck, particularly for recent college graduates.
First, the bad news—ongoing technological advancements have massively impacted these industries. As the use of artificial intelligence has exploded in the technology sector, finding an entry-level job has become increasingly difficult. LinkedIn Chief Economic Opportunity Officer Aneesh Raman noted in a May 2025 op-ed for The New York Times that artificial intelligence is decimating the "bottom rung of the career ladder" in technology, while a May 2025 report from SignalFire found that the hiring of new grads at the nation's 15 largest tech companies has dropped by more than 50% since 2019.
Yet, while the situation may seem dire, it's not all doom and gloom for computer and engineering jobs. Although these positions may be more selective than they once were, many pay far more than the country's 2024 median wages of $49,500. Those in computer and information technology occupations can expect to make a median salary of $105,990 as of 2024, while engineers earn median wages of more than $97,000.
Employment in these fields is also expected to grow at a healthy rate. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts an average of 356,700 new computer job openings yearly through 2033, and 195,000 new engineering job openings in the same period. Furthermore, growing interest in sustainable infrastructure and construction techniques could lead to exciting opportunities for engineers.
Though it's difficult to predict the exact future of computer and engineering jobs, those interested in these fields can at least consider one important aspect: salary. Stacker used BLS data to find the highest-paying computer and engineering jobs Providence. Jobs are ranked by their median annual pay as of May 2024, so any jobs without annual compensation figures available were excluded from this analysis.
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2 / 46#45. Surveyors
- Median annual wage: $52,000
- Median hourly wage: $25.00
- Total employment: 170 people (0.24 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Freedomz // Shutterstock
3 / 46#44. Drafters, all other
- Median annual wage: $52,360
- Median hourly wage: $25.18
- Total employment: 40 people (0.06 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Toa55 // Shutterstock
4 / 46#43. Landscape architects
- Median annual wage: $56,200
- Median hourly wage: $27.02
- Total employment: Not available
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5 / 46#42. Computer user support specialists
- Median annual wage: $59,840
- Median hourly wage: $28.77
- Total employment: 2,580 people (3.65 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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6 / 46#41. Calibration technologists and technicians
- Median annual wage: $64,050
- Median hourly wage: $30.79
- Total employment: 50 people (0.07 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
kittirat roekburi // Shutterstock
7 / 46#40. Civil engineering technologists and technicians
- Median annual wage: $64,620
- Median hourly wage: $31.07
- Total employment: 270 people (0.38 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BELL KA PANG // Shutterstock
8 / 46#39. Industrial engineering technologists and technicians
- Median annual wage: $66,160
- Median hourly wage: $31.81
- Total employment: 250 people (0.36 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
9 / 46#38. Electro-mechanical and mechatronics technologists and technicians
- Median annual wage: $68,160
- Median hourly wage: $32.77
- Total employment: 90 people (0.12 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Hitdelight // Shutterstock
10 / 46#37. Architectural and civil drafters
- Median annual wage: $68,370
- Median hourly wage: $32.87
- Total employment: 360 people (0.51 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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11 / 46#36. Mechanical drafters
- Median annual wage: $72,580
- Median hourly wage: $34.90
- Total employment: 140 people (0.2 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Oil and Gas Photographer // Shutterstock
12 / 46#35. Mechanical engineering technologists and technicians
- Median annual wage: $74,910
- Median hourly wage: $36.02
- Total employment: 90 people (0.13 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
13 / 46#34. Computer network support specialists
- Median annual wage: $78,810
- Median hourly wage: $37.89
- Total employment: Not available
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14 / 46#33. Electrical and electronics drafters
- Median annual wage: $79,330
- Median hourly wage: $38.14
- Total employment: 40 people (0.05 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PR Image Factory // Shutterstock
15 / 46#32. Operations research analysts
- Median annual wage: $80,760
- Median hourly wage: $38.83
- Total employment: 340 people (0.48 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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anyaivanova // Shutterstock
16 / 46#31. Electrical and electronic engineering technologists and technicians
- Median annual wage: $81,920
- Median hourly wage: $39.38
- Total employment: 430 people (0.61 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BGStock72 // Shutterstock
17 / 46#30. Engineering technologists and technicians, except drafters, all other
- Median annual wage: $88,880
- Median hourly wage: $42.73
- Total employment: 300 people (0.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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18 / 46#29. Statisticians
- Median annual wage: $91,680
- Median hourly wage: $44.08
- Total employment: 60 people (0.08 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
N.Z.Photography // Shutterstock
19 / 46#28. Computer occupations, all other
- Median annual wage: $93,430
- Median hourly wage: $44.92
- Total employment: 950 people (1.34 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
20 / 46#27. Web developers
- Median annual wage: $95,380
- Median hourly wage: $45.85
- Total employment: Not available
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21 / 46#26. Software quality assurance analysts and testers
- Median annual wage: $95,690
- Median hourly wage: $46.01
- Total employment: 490 people (0.69 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PIYAWAT WONGOPASS // Shutterstock
22 / 46#25. Computer programmers
- Median annual wage: $97,050
- Median hourly wage: $46.66
- Total employment: 380 people (0.54 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
eldar nurkovic // Shutterstock
23 / 46#24. Chemical engineers
- Median annual wage: $98,160
- Median hourly wage: $47.19
- Total employment: 70 people (0.1 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Arjuna Kodisinghe // Shutterstock
24 / 46#23. Network and computer systems administrators
- Median annual wage: $99,910
- Median hourly wage: $48.03
- Total employment: 1,620 people (2.3 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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25 / 46#22. Actuaries
- Median annual wage: $101,990
- Median hourly wage: $49.03
- Total employment: 110 people (0.15 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Tonhom1009 // Shutterstock
26 / 46#21. Bioengineers and biomedical engineers
- Median annual wage: $103,140
- Median hourly wage: $49.59
- Total employment: 160 people (0.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
DC Studio // Shutterstock
27 / 46#20. Database administrators
- Median annual wage: $103,810
- Median hourly wage: $49.91
- Total employment: 330 people (0.47 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
28 / 46#19. Industrial engineers
- Median annual wage: $104,320
- Median hourly wage: $50.15
- Total employment: 1,420 people (2.02 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
29 / 46#18. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $104,530
- Median hourly wage: $50.26
- Total employment: 830 people (1.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
30 / 46#17. Architects, except landscape and naval
- Median annual wage: $106,480
- Median hourly wage: $51.19
- Total employment: 510 people (0.72 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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kittirat roekburi // Shutterstock
31 / 46#16. Environmental engineers
- Median annual wage: $106,620
- Median hourly wage: $51.26
- Total employment: 130 people (0.19 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
32 / 46#15. Health and safety engineers, except mining safety engineers and inspectors
- Median annual wage: $107,450
- Median hourly wage: $51.66
- Total employment: 70 people (0.1 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock
33 / 46#14. Civil engineers
- Median annual wage: $108,010
- Median hourly wage: $51.93
- Total employment: 1,310 people (1.85 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rawpixel.com //Shutterstock
34 / 46#13. Web and digital interface designers
- Median annual wage: $108,940
- Median hourly wage: $52.38
- Total employment: 380 people (0.54 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BalanceFormCreative // Shutterstock
35 / 46#12. Information security analysts
- Median annual wage: $109,410
- Median hourly wage: $52.60
- Total employment: 850 people (1.2 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
36 / 46#11. Computer systems analysts
- Median annual wage: $109,950
- Median hourly wage: $52.86
- Total employment: 1,830 people (2.6 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
37 / 46#10. Mechanical engineers
- Median annual wage: $110,390
- Median hourly wage: $53.07
- Total employment: 1,650 people (2.33 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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38 / 46#9. Materials engineers
- Median annual wage: $110,700
- Median hourly wage: $53.22
- Total employment: 120 people (0.17 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Chaay_Tee // Shutterstock
39 / 46#8. Data scientists
- Median annual wage: $116,890
- Median hourly wage: $56.20
- Total employment: 1,200 people (1.7 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
40 / 46#7. Engineers, all other
- Median annual wage: $118,150
- Median hourly wage: $56.80
- Total employment: 460 people (0.65 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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SeventyFour // Shutterstock
41 / 46#6. Computer hardware engineers
- Median annual wage: $122,870
- Median hourly wage: $59.07
- Total employment: 530 people (0.75 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
42 / 46#5. Computer and information research scientists
- Median annual wage: $123,300
- Median hourly wage: $59.28
- Total employment: 510 people (0.72 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
43 / 46#4. Computer network architects
- Median annual wage: $125,150
- Median hourly wage: $60.17
- Total employment: 600 people (0.85 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
44 / 46#3. Electronics engineers, except computer
- Median annual wage: $128,420
- Median hourly wage: $61.74
- Total employment: 1,010 people (1.43 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wee dezign // Shutterstock
45 / 46#2. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $132,010
- Median hourly wage: $63.47
- Total employment: 5,880 people (8.33 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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MinskDesign // Shutterstock
46 / 46#1. Database architects
- Median annual wage: $147,370
- Median hourly wage: $70.85
- Total employment: 180 people (0.25 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
This story features data reporting by Wade Zhou and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 364 metros.
