Five Careers to Put Your Engineering Degree to Good Use

When students choose to pursue a degree in engineering, many doors open for job opportunities in the various specialties of this broad field. Although the nature of the work depends on the specialized profession, nearly all careers in engineering involve making a difference in many peoples’ lives directly or indirectly. In order to help you find a career that is right for you, please read on to find five different careers that will put your engineering to good use.

Biomedical Engineer

Biomedical engineers design and analyze solutions for problems in the medical and biological fields, with the goal of improving the efficiency of healthcare. Biomedical engineers team up with scientists and chemists to design medical products, such as artificial organs and diagnostic medical equipment. These specialized engineers need to possess expertise in engineering, biology, chemistry, mathematics, statistics, and computer software. They may work in hospitals, medical laboratories, pharmaceutical manufacturing, or commercial offices, but the overall mean annual salary for biomedical engineers is $91,200. It is also a great time to start a career in this field, as it is expected to grow much faster than average at nearly 63 percent before 2020.

Civil Engineer

Civil engineers take on large construction projects, including roads, tunnels, skyscrapers, bridges, and shopping malls. Their daily duties include analyzing survey reports, testing building materials, providing cost estimates, designing plans, and supervising construction. Civil engineers often hold a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering to build all necessary skills in statistics, mathematics, fluid dynamics, engineering mechanics, and project management. Employment for civil engineers is expected to be promising, as it grows 19 percent from 2010 to 2020. Although the mean annual salary in civil engineering is $84,140, those employed in industrial machinery manufacturing can make significantly more at $138,780.

Aerospace Engineer

Aerospace engineers specialize in the design and development of aircraft or spacecraft, meaning they work on projects that are literally out of this world. Aerospace engineers are also responsible for testing aircraft products, assessing project proposals, and evaluating designs to ensure the products surpass quality and safety standards. Both aeronautical and astronautical engineers need to have a solid knowledge of aerodynamics, thermodynamics, flight mechanics, control systems, and propulsion. Although this field is not growing as rapidly as other engineering fields, those with a passion for air and spacecraft can earn an annual salary of $97,480.

Petroleum Engineer

Petroleum engineers design new methods for effectively extracting natural gas and oil from deposits found below the surface of the Earth. Petroleum engineers usually design extracting equipment, develop plans for drilling in oil fields, determine new methods to force out more gas, and ensure that oil field equipment is maintained properly. Job prospects for petroleum engineers are expected to be highly favorable with a projected growth of 17 percent because drilling operations are becoming more complex and many petroleum engineers are reaching retirement age. The average annual salary for a petroleum engineer is currently $147,470, although some experienced engineers make considerably more.

Electrical Engineer

Electrical engineers design, test, and oversee the manufacturing of electrical equipment. They often work on designing the systems for automobiles, motors, navigation systems, radar, and communications systems. Most electrical engineers have a bachelor’s degree, with significant expertise in electrical circuit theory, differential equations, the cold forming process, digital systems design, and calculus. Electrical engineers earn an average annual salary of $91,810, or $44.14 per hour. Job growth is expected due to the specialized engineers’ versatility in developing new technologies.

Since there are so many different career paths to pursue with engineering, it is important to further your research on opportunities that align with your skill set and interests. Consider these five great professions or any others in engineering to start a rewarding, lucrative, and in demand career.