Career in Engineering

A career in engineering may be a rewarding career. Engineers are the people who apply the principles of science to develop practical solutions to technical problems.

There are many disciplines in engineering career. Some engineers design products, then the machinery to develop the products. Others design, plan and supervise the construction of buildings and infra-structure. There are also engineers who work in petrol chemical industry.

There are more than 25 major specialties in engineering career that are recognized by professional societies. Engineers may also choose specialties even within the same discipline, such as motor vehicles or turbines or semi-conductor materials. Among some of the major engineering disciplines include:

Aerospace Engineering
Agricultural Engineering
Architectural Engineering
Bioengineering
Ceramic Engineering
Chemical Engineering
Civil Engineering
Computer Engineering
Construction Engineering
Electrical and Electronics Engineering
Engineering Management
Engineering Mechanics
Engineering Physics / Engineering Science
Environmental Engineering
Forest/Paper Engineering
Geological Engineering
Industrial Engineering
Manufacturing Engineering
Materials Science and Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Metallurgical Engineering
Microelectronic Engineering
Mining Engineering
Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering
Nuclear Engineering
Ocean Engineering
Petroleum Engineering
Software Engineering
Surveying and Geomatics

What is the pre-requisite for a career in engineering? For all entry level engineering career, a bachelor degree in engineering is compulsory. College graduates with a degree in a physical science or mathematics may also sometimes qualify for some engineering career. Engineers who are trained in one branch may sometimes work in related branches.

Most engineering programs in a college offer courses in mathematics and science and involve a concentration of study in an engineering specialty. There is also engineering technology courses. However, engineering technology graduates are not qualified to register as professional engineers.

In the U.S., there are about 1,830 engineering programs that leads to a bachelor degree in engineering that are accredited by Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, ABET. To be admitted into a bachelor degree in engineering program, solid background in mathematics, science, courses in English, social studies, humanities and computer and technology is required. Most engineering degree courses can be completed within 4 years.

To advance in your career in engineering, you should obtain your Professional Engineers (P.E.) licensure. This is required for engineers who offer their services directly to the public. The P.E. licensure requires that the engineer has an engineering degree that is accredited by ABET. In Canada, the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board was established to accredit engineering degree programs.

Mechanical Engineering is now the largest undergraduate engineering discipline. The Electrical Engineering numbers are relatively steady while Computer Engineering had declined by 18% since 2001. Civil, General and Chemical engineering is the next largest group.

Engineers work a standard 40-hour week. There are extra pressure for engineering career with deadlines and engineers may need to work longer hours. Most engineering career will require that the engineers works in office buildings, laboratories, or industrial plants. Other engineer careers will require that the engineers work at construction site, oil and gas exploration and production sites.

To be successful in a career in engineering, you need to be creative, inquisitive and analytical. You should be able to work as part of a team and to be able to communicate well, both orally and in writing.

Graduates who are starting their engineering career usually works under the supervision of experience engineers. As they progress in their engineering career, they are given more independence to work on more complex projects.

What is the salary for a career in engineering? How much does an engineer earns? According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers in their 2007 salary survey, the average salary of mechanical engineering graduates is $54,587. The average salary for chemical engineering is $60,054. Civil engineers has an average salary of $47,145. Electrical engineers have an average salary of $54,599.

In the U.S., there are 1.5 million engineering jobs. About 37% of the engineering jobs are in manufacturing industries, 28% in the professional, scientific, and technical services. About 3% of the engineers are self-employed, most of them consultants.

The distribution of employment by engineering specialty is as follows:
Civil engineers 256,000
Mechanical engineers 227,000
Industrial engineers 201,000
Electrical engineers 153,000
Electronics engineers, except computer 138,000
Aerospace engineers 90,000
Computer hardware engineers 79,000
Environmental engineers 54,000
Chemical engineers 30,000
Health and safety engineers, except mining safety
engineers and inspectors 25,000
Materials engineers 22,000
Petroleum engineers 17,000
Nuclear engineers 15,000
Biomedical engineers 14,000
Marine engineers and naval architects 9,200
Mining and geological engineers, including mining safety
engineers 7,100
Agricultural engineers 3,100
All other engineers 170,000

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, engineering career opportunities are expected to grow by 11% in the next decade. This is as fast as in other career.

As competitive pressures and advancing technology force companies to continually innovate, engineers are in demand to increase productivity and expand output of goods and services.

There are also some threats to those who are considering a career in engineering. One of this threat include the outsourcing of engineering works to offshore engineers. However, onshore engineers are still required to interact with other employees and client.

The overall job opportunities for career in engineering are expected to be good as the graduates produced is in good balance with the number of job openings. There are also other engineering job openings created by the need to replace current engineers who retire, promoted to management levels or those who leave the engineering career.