Inventors work in every industry creating new products for public consumption. These people spend a lot of time coming up with ideas, creating these ideas and then testing them. The salaries for these inventors vary depending on whether they work for a business or alone. Inventors who work for a business can be defined as an engineer. These people receive a steady annual salary. In contrast, independent inventors receive income based on their inventions. This could cause their income to vary throughout the year.

Qualifications

The qualifications to become an inventor vary depending on the employer. Inventors who are hired as engineers for a company are required to have a bachelor's degree in engineering. Most engineers also specialize their degree into specific focus areas. These areas include civil, electrical and aeronautical. Inventors who work alone do not need to have any specific qualifications. However, these people typically have a certain area of work in which they specialize. One example would be computer science.

Salary

The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists the current median annual salary for engineers at $88,570. This is for inventors who work as engineers for companies. In addition to a base salary, these people receive additional benefits. The inventor of the Strider toddler bike states that he earned $102,000 in 2009 as one of three owners of the Strider Sports International start-up company. He took a lower salary to reinvest the profits of the product into the start-up company.

Example

There are numerous examples of current-day inventors. The most famous example is Mark Zuckerberg, who invented the social networking site Facebook. His net worth is estimated at $1.5 billion. Mr. Zuckerberg was a college student at Harvard when he created this website. He left college and went to Silicon Valley, where he found investors to fund his invention. He is being listed as the youngest current self-made billionaire in history.

Job Outlook

The job outlook for inventors will continue to grow. Inventors are needed every day to continue creating new products or services for people to invest in or consume. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that engineering positions will continue to grow by at least 11 percent over the next 10 years because of the demand for new and improved products. Independent inventors always exist as people continue to brainstorm new ideas.

2018 Salary Information for Nuclear Engineers

Nuclear engineers earned a median annual salary of $107,600 in May 2018, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. On the low end, nuclear engineers earned a 10th percentile salary of $82,770, meaning 90 percent earned more than this amount. The 90th percentile salary is $124,420, meaning 10 percent earn more. In 2018, 17,700 people were employed in the U.S. as nuclear engineers.