There are several subspecialties to consider while looking for a career if you have an engineering degree or are thinking about acquiring one. Career insights assist you in deciding which positions in your chosen sector are the finest to pursue when picking a certain career path. Numerous engineering job alternatives within the engineering sector offer career security, based on predictions of engineering job growth and typical incomes that are greater than the national median wage.
This post will explore 15 of the leading engineering jobs for the future to assist you in making career decisions.
Engineering definition
Engineering is a profession that uses scientific and technological ideas to create, design, construct, and use machinery, systems, constructions, and other objects that assist people in resolving issues or achieving practical objectives. These objects are considered “technology,” although early technology did not include the gadgets and computers that most people take for granted today.
Engineers advance technology and influence the future of the globe with every design concept and innovation they produce. Nearly every industry has needs in the vast realm of engineering. Engineering jobs may be for you if you like creating new products to solve difficulties in your daily life.
15 future-oriented best engineering jobs
To keep up with the national median job rate of growth for all occupations, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicts that the number of jobs in the engineering sector will expand by 4% between 2021 and 2031. As of May 2021, the BLS reported that the annual median salary for all occupations was $45,760, while the annual median salary for careers in engineering and architectural design was $79,840.
The list below includes 15 engineering jobs, along with descriptions of each position’s key responsibilities, average income, and expected growth rate.
1. A technician in civil engineering
National average yearly salary: $58,320
Outlook for employment growth: 0% (Small or no change)
Primary responsibilities: Civil engineering technicians in engineering jobs work alongside civil engineers to plan, design, and construct infrastructure projects for businesses, industries, homes, and real estate developments. Common tasks include estimating a structure’s size by studying project plans or blueprints, evaluating pre-construction site conditions; watching contractors at work to spot design flaws, and testing building supplies and soil samples. The preparation and maintenance of project files, records, and reports, as well as the preparation and maintenance of project documents, archives, and reports, as well as the documentation of project tasks and data, are also the responsibilities of civil engineering technicians. They also create strategies and estimate costs for building systems and operating facilities.
2. Cartographer
National average yearly salary: $61,754
Outlook for employment growth: 3% (Faster than usual)
Primary responsibilities: Research, collection, measurement, interpretation, manipulation, storage, and retrieval of geographic data from aerial and satellite photos, reports, remote sensor technology, and field surveys are the main responsibilities of cartographers in engineering jobs. Thematic charts and maps are produced and updated using this data for architectural, economic, political, economic, educational, and environmental goals. Their maps assist in decision-making for advertising, geology, engineering, and environmental research in addition to regional, urban, and land-use zoning and planning.
3. Technician in aerospace engineering
National average yearly salary: $73,580
Outlook for employment growth: 6% (average speed)
Primary responsibilities: By running and maintaining the machinery that aerospace engineers use to design, test, construct, and support new aircraft and spacecraft, aerospace engineering technicians aid aeronautical engineers in their engineering jobs. Typical responsibilities include creating and managing aircraft system test laboratories, fabricating and implementing systems and components for testing equipment, running and adjusting computer networks, ensuring testing is done securely and efficiently, documenting test data, coding and executing computer models, reporting results and implications of testing to aeronautical engineers, placing instruments in aerospace and spacecraft, and checking flight systems for quality control.
4. Industrial engineer
National average yearly salary: $78,861
Outlook for employment growth: 10% (More quickly than usual)
Primary responsibilities: The main responsibilities of industrial engineers in engineering jobs include assessing how goods and services are produced, looking for ways to reduce waste, and developing effective systems that integrate people, resources, machines, information, and energy. They must assess production plans, engineering requirements, and process flows. They must also build management control systems, devise techniques to increase productivity in producing goods and providing services and plan and implement quality control procedures.
5. Agronomic engineer
National average yearly salary: $82,640
Outlook for employment growth: 1% (Small to no change)
Primary responsibilities: The main responsibilities of agricultural engineers in engineering jobs include designing, developing, testing, and supervising a range of farming and agriculturally related systems, machinery, apparatus, and structures. They may be in charge of organizing and supervising the building of rural electric-power distribution networks, developing and supervising the procedure of food-processing seedlings and production facilities, developing and testing farm equipment components and equipment, and designing buildings for the storage and processing of crops or the housing of animals.
6. Mechanical engineer
National average yearly salary: $84,834 is the average yearly wage in the country.
Outlook for employment growth: 2% (Faster than usual)
Primary responsibilities: The main responsibilities of mechanical engineers in engineering jobs include designing, developing, building, and testing mechanical equipment and processes, including temperature sensors, using the laws of force, energy, and motion. Designing practical tools, creating blueprints, building and testing prototypes, interpreting test results, investigating technical glitches or problems to diagnose issues and offer solutions, advancing mechanical technologies, experimenting with theories to discover practical applications for products or processes, and managing the production process for their designs are common duties.
7. Marine engineer
National average yearly salary: $85,070
Outlook for employment growth: 4% (As quickly as usual)
Primary responsibilities: The principal responsibilities of marine engineers in engineering jobs include designing, constructing, inspecting, and maintaining the internal systems that power watercraft, including submarines, ships, sailboats, tankers, and aircraft carriers. They are in charge of the systems that regulate the power, ventilation, heating, cooling, steering, and hydraulics necessary for the proper operation of the vehicles. They collaborate with naval architects, who create the architectural framework and corporeal features of the vehicles that house the systems used by marine engineers.
8. A civil engineer
National average yearly salary: $87,181
Outlook for employment growth: 7% (About average speed)
Primary responsibilities: The main responsibilities of civil engineers in engineering jobs include designing, developing, constructing, and managing infrastructure systems. They typically design and develop the city and town infrastructure, including structures, highways, tunnels, bridges, airports, and dams, for the government. Civil engineers are responsible for determining an area’s needs, developing structures that provide a safe and useful function, creating cost estimates, obtaining permits, and verifying that all designs stay in compliance with all relevant rules.
9. Chemical engineer
National average yearly salary: $90,707
Outlook for employment growth: 14% (Much quicker than usual)
Primary responsibilities: Chemical engineers in engineering jobs handle issues concerning the manufacture or usage of chemicals, fuel, pharmaceuticals, food, and other items by combining the fundamentals of mathematics, biology, chemistry, and physics. Common tasks include organizing and evaluating production techniques and byproducts management, as well as researching to create and build innovative production equipment and processes.
Chemical engineers also organize and construct the design of equipment, devise safety protocols for working with toxic materials, ensure that equipment and procedures conform with security and ecological standards, estimate, manufacturing costs, and oversee facility operations.
10. An environmental engineer
National average yearly salary: $91,894
Outlook for employment growth: 4% (As quickly as usual)
Primary responsibilities: The main responsibilities of environmental engineers in engineering jobs are to conduct research and devise strategies to safeguard the environment. They provide answers to environmental problems like contamination, environmental disasters, sewage treatment, environmental cleanup, ozone layer depletion, and more by fusing engineering ideas with those of soil science, biology, and chemistry. They are also in charge of securing permissions for their plans, supervising construction, and keeping an eye on and auditing facility operations to make sure they adhere to any rules that may be in force.
11. Engineer in biomedicine
National average yearly salary: $96,635
Outlook for employment growth: 10% (More quickly than usual)
Primary responsibilities: Biomedical engineers in engineering jobs create and construct tools, machinery, computer networks, and technology for the healthcare sector using engineering principles in conjunction with biological and medical scientific principles. Their employment responsibilities include assessing, setting up, maintaining, and fixing biomedical equipment as well as instructing medical personnel on how to utilize it properly. In addition, they publish research articles and technical reports and present their findings to their peers, scientists, the medical industry, and the general public.
12. Safety engineer
National average yearly salary: $98,997
Outlook for employment growth: 4% (As quickly as usual)
Primary responsibilities: Safety engineers in engineering jobs grow processes and create programs that protect individuals from injuries or illnesses and assets from damage done by chemicals, industrial equipment, software, and other products. They do this by combining engineering principles with current occupational health and safety policies, regulations, and industrial activities.
Common responsibilities include analyzing blueprints and specifications to make sure that machinery and machines meet safety regulations, making sure that buildings and products comply with health and safety regulations, evaluating the efficiency of industrial methods of control; implementing safety mechanisms on machines and equipment, evaluating worker safety practices; and monitoring and evaluating facilities, factories, and equipment to recognize possible dangers and make correctional facility recommendations.
13. Hardware developers
National average yearly salary: $103,259
Outlook for employment growth: 5% (As quickly as usual)
Primary responsibilities: The main responsibilities of computer hardware engineers in engineering jobs include doing research, designing, developing, and testing computer systems and the components that make them up, including processors, circuitry, memory chips, networks, and routers. They are responsible for developing new computer equipment, developing computer hardware schematics, testing their designs, reviewing test findings, making any necessary adjustments, updating older computer hardware to run with newer software, and managing the production of computer hardware.
14. Aeronautical engineer
National average yearly salary: $108,875
Outlook for employment growth: 6% (About average speed)
Primary responsibilities: The main responsibilities of aeronautical engineers in engineering jobs are to oversee and supervise the design, development, and testing of airplanes, spacecraft, missiles, and satellites. Additionally, they evaluate proposals for technical and economic viability, make sure designs adhere to environmental standards, generate and carry out experiments of their models to ensure correct functionality, establish admission requirements and quality standards, and examine defective or damaged products to determine the cause of the issue and come up with solutions.
15. Engineering supervisors
National average yearly salary: $114,069
Outlook for employment growth: 2% (Faster than usual)
Primary responsibilities: The main responsibilities of engineering managers in engineering jobs include planning, supervising, and coordinating all operations of an engineering group or business. Their responsibilities include setting technical objectives and creating thorough plans for the creation of new products, procedures, or designs; determining the staff, training, and equipment requirements; proposing expenditures for initiatives and programs; employing and supervising staff; leading research projects; ensuring that their staff adheres to proper work procedures; and evaluating the precision of their staff’s work. They also coordinate their efforts with other employees and managers.
Engineering: Is It Worth It? Benefits and Drawbacks of the Career Path
Engineering is a profession that involves the creation of intricate machinery and buildings using applied technology and science. For those looking for a job that produces measurable outcomes, being an engineer might be a rewarding career path. It may be helpful to weigh the benefits and drawbacks of the engineering career to decide if it’s worthwhile.
What is the job of an engineer?
The duties of an engineer can change depending on their experience, the size of their firm, and the industry they work in. An engineer’s responsibilities could include:
- Examining and evaluating data for a given work to comprehend its requirements
- Identifying important factors for an engineering company through the analysis of current data
- Creating a list of task concepts by brainstorming alternative solutions
- Creating blueprints for the building of mechanical and structural devices
- Making a simple engineering design prototype to evaluate its functionality and capabilities
- Putting a plan into action to create a functioning prototype of the final version
- Testing an engineering model to find areas for development, both during development and after the creation of a final prototype.
- An engineering project should be updated as necessary to incorporate changes and raise the project’s overall quality.
How much time is required to become an engineer?
The majority of employers prefer engineering applicants with a bachelor’s degree or higher. A bachelor’s degree in engineering or a closely related discipline is typically obtained after four years of college. After earning your undergraduate program or after starting a profession, you may also decide to pursue an advanced education, which normally calls for two or more years of extra study.
The value of engineering
Analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of the industry can be helpful if you’re thinking about making a career in engineering. This will help you decide if engineering is the right career choice for you. Below are a few things to think about:
Advantages of being an engineer
Being an engineer can be a fantastic career choice for a variety of reasons, including:
High average pay
Engineers’ work is frequently valued by businesses because it can significantly affect a company’s financial performance. Engineers frequently earn above-average compensation as a result of their value to an enterprise. As many entry-level professional engineers are capable of earning quite high incomes, this is most obvious early in an engineer’s career.
Productive work
Engineering could be a great career choice if you’re looking for a position where your work has a good impact on society or the planet. Numerous engineers contribute significantly to technological advancements that have a profound effect on people’s quality of life both locally and internationally. For instance, an engineer interested in preventing climate change might strive to develop alternative energy harvesting techniques that are more effective and generate fewer unfavorable consequences.
Practical outcomes
If you like doing work that results in tangible outcomes, engineering may be an attractive career choice. The construction of systems designs is a common component of engineering projects, allowing the engineers who operate on them to see the tangible outcomes of their labor. If you work in a field where the outcomes of your labor are more concrete, it might make your profession more fulfilling.
Several fields to fill out
If you decide to study engineering as a career, you have access to a variety of engineering job prospects because the field is wide and diversified. Finding an engineering job that you enjoy could be made simpler for you as a result. You can increase your chances of getting engineering employment in the field you choose by studying to be an engineer and tailoring your education to fit the subjects you find most interesting.
Normal business hours
The majority of engineers follow a set schedule and frequently put in standard 40-hour work weeks. This can make it simple to create plans for your life outside of work because you’ll know that any more work or adjustments to your working time won’t interfere with them. Engineering may be a desirable choice of career for you if you appreciate having a regular schedule and the certainty of knowing when you can take time off from work.
A variety of employment options
There are numerous engineering-related disciplines you can work in, and there are numerous engineering-related jobs you can accomplish as part of your regular responsibilities and tasks. Some engineering positions emphasize practical application and hands-on labor, while others emphasize electronic work and analysis. You can then choose an engineering career path that fits your objectives, desired responsibilities, and best skills.
Disadvantages of Engineering Career
Examining the potential disadvantages of a profession in engineering is a useful approach to gauge its allure:
Few chances to achieve tremendous wealth
While the maximum salary for engineers is higher than that of other high-paying professions like law or medicine, the average remuneration for engineers is still rather high. The higher base pay and average salaries, however, make this professional path attractive to many others. If you choose to work in engineering, you may be able to save cash on your school costs because many professions with higher salary potential also call for postgraduate degrees.
Educational challenges
Engineering is a field where proper operation depends on precise calculations and constructs. This means that the knowledge you obtain while pursuing an engineering course may be difficult. As mathematics and science are frequently essential to an engineering degree and employment, it is advantageous to evaluate your aptitude for these subjects when thinking about engineering as a vocation.
Possible student loan debt
The majority of engineering employment requires applicants to have at least a bachelor’s degree. As a result, future engineers will probably need to pursue further education, which could result in student debt. You might need to pay for it yourself or obtain a loan to purchase your degree if you are unable to secure grants or scholarships to defray the expense of your education.
Static work settings
Sitting at a desk or in a different fixed position for a sizable portion of the day is a common part of many engineering careers. If you want to work in a profession that requires more physical activity during the workday, you may be required to change the way your engineering job is organized. For instance, an engineer whose job involves spending a lot of time on a computer can buy a standing desk or treadmill workstation to cut down on the amount of time they spend seated in a chair each day.
Lower likelihood of working for yourself
Engineering might not be the best profession for those who want to operate by themselves as contract workers or start their firms. Even if it’s not impossible, it’s more typical for engineers to be employed as staff members in a sizable engineering company or a business with an engineering unit. When compared to being a company owner or independent contractor, functioning as a salaried worker has the advantage of more financial stability.
Average engineer salaries
Salary potential may play a significant role in deciding whether to become an engineer. The average yearly salary for engineers is $66,860. This sum may change depending on your geographic location, company, education, and experience, as well as the particular branch of engineering you choose to study.
Prospects for engineers
Another essential factor to take into account when deciding whether to opt for a career in engineering is the stability of employment opportunities. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that between 2020 and 2030, the employment of industrial engineers will expand by 14%, that of civil engineers by 8%, and that of mechanical engineers by 7%. These predictions range from being well above the median for industrial engineers to being average for all industries.
Conclusion
Engineering degrees are highly recognized and offer graduates a variety of professional options. But making this choice is not simple. Regardless of the major you choose, you will be required to put in a lot of time and effort studying.
The fact that engineering schools prepare students for the workforce preparing to be tested in the program with some incredibly challenging coursework. The majority of kids have difficulties with mathematics and the workload. If you decide to pursue this degree, know that it’s challenging but also that it’s most definitely not a pointless one.
Frequently Asked Questions about engineering jobs
- Is being an engineer a wise career move?
One of the most well-known professions on the job market is engineering. It calls for specialized skill sets. You can land stable and well-paying employment because of the technical competence you have to offer. Engineering is related to 9 of the top 10 degree fields with the highest salaries.
- Are there still jobs for engineers?
It will please you to know that the response is yes. Engineers that opt to pursue careers might anticipate having good employment opportunities. In the present work market, some engineering specializations have greater opportunities, so you might want to think about choosing one.
- Do engineers earn more money than physicians?
Specialist doctors only surpass engineers in lifetime income at the age of 43, despite