Fuel Cell Engineers build judgment and decision making, systems analysis and systems evaluation skills that carry over to other work. Below are 25 careers ranked by how closely their skills match, with pay from BLS May 2025. The closest match is Materials Scientists (86%).
Updated October 2026 · Data: O*NET 31.0 and BLS OEWS May 2025 · How we match careers
Sorted by skill match.
| # | Career | Skill match | Median pay | Pay change | Extra education |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Materials Scientists | 86% | $117,790 | — | None |
| 2 | Biofuels/Biodiesel Technology and Product Development Managers | 84% | $171,270Pay for the broader BLS group “Architectural and Engineering Managers” | Not compared | None |
| 3 | Mechanical Engineering Technologists and Technicians | 78% | $74,510 | — | None |
| 4 | Industrial Engineering Technologists and Technicians | 74% | $66,120 | — | None |
| 5 | Chemists | 74% | $91,240 | — | None |
| 6 | Nanotechnology Engineering Technologists and Technicians | 73% | $66,120Pay for the broader BLS group “Industrial Engineering Technologists and Technicians” | Not compared | None |
| 7 | Hydrologists | 72% | $96,600 | — | None |
| 8 | Environmental Engineering Technologists and Technicians | 71% | $59,920 | — | None |
| 9 | Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technologists and Technicians | 70% | $82,890 | — | None |
| 10 | Food Scientists and Technologists | 70% | $88,720 | — | None |
Compared with Fuel Cell Engineers, median —. Skill match is our estimate (0–99) from O*NET 31.0 skills, knowledge, work activities and interests, adjusted for preparation and big pay drops. Pay: BLS OEWS May 2025, national median.
How important each skill is in work as fuel cell engineers (O*NET importance, scale 1–5).
The gaps that show up most often across your top 10 matches.
Free and low-cost training: use the CareerOneStop training finder below.
A concrete first step, the skills to add, and the hard parts of each job, from O*NET 31.0 education, training and work context data.
86% skill match · $117,790
Complex Problem Solving · Management of Financial Resources · Persuasion
No work-context factor stands out as unusually hard in O*NET data.
84% skill match · $171,270 (broader BLS group)
Management of Personnel Resources · Complex Problem Solving · Negotiation
No work-context factor stands out as unusually hard in O*NET data.
78% skill match · $74,510
Equipment Maintenance · Operations Monitoring · Complex Problem Solving
If you want to stay close to what you do now, these roles are the nearest.
The closest matches are Materials Scientists (86% skill match, median $117,790), Biofuels/Biodiesel Technology and Product Development Managers (84% skill match, median $171,270) and Mechanical Engineering Technologists and Technicians (78% skill match, median $74,510), based on O*NET 31.0 data and BLS May 2025 pay.
None of the 25 closest matches pays more than fuel cell engineers at the national median (BLS May 2025). Higher-paying moves usually need more training.
23 of the 25 matches usually need no more education than you have now, based on O*NET Job Zones. 2 usually need a graduate degree: Physicists and Biochemists and Biophysicists.
We compare the importance of skills, knowledge, work activities and interests in O*NET 31.0 for your job and every other career, then adjust for extra preparation and big pay drops. The full method is on our Methodology page.