Careers in Engineering

Engineers are the problem-solvers, combining skills and science, education and experience to work on diverse challenges.

Unlike portrayals of emergency room doctors, crime scene investigators and lawyers, there aren’t any popular television programs that expose people to engineering as a possible career option.

But choosing an engineering education can launch a professional career that can make a difference in so many ways.

Who are the engineers?

Engineers design the nation’s infrastructure from bridges and roadways to waterways and airways. They also plot housing developments and protect neighborhoods from noise.

Engineers figure out the best way to get products from the drawing board to the manufacturing line and then from factory to store, just in time to keep companies competitive but not so they are bogged down in too much space-wasting, cost-eating inventory.

Others ensure people get their drinking water, electricity, or other power. They figure out how to reduce water and air pollution. Engineers design our workplaces and homes so they are safe and efficient, engineers help businesses and industries refine their practices so they will harm neither the environment nor the bottom line. They are the ones who figure out how to make tiny sensors that diagnose medical problems or the mechanical devices that help fix them. They are the ones who come up with the vehicles of the future, whether they be autos, planes or modes not yet invented. They harness the power of computers and the technology to push the capabilities of people and machinery beyond imagination.

Engineers might wear hard hats, but they’re just as likely to be the ones making the pitch for improvement to corporate or community leaders. It is even more likely that the engineers ARE the corporate or community leaders, people that others look to for guidance and solutions and who are rewarded for their expertise. Engineers are the people in charge.

Cooperative education

Students in some engineering programs gain real work experience – and the pay that goes with it – while they are enrolled.

A few universities require several semesters of cooperative education to place students into significant jobs in industry beginning early in their engineering studies.

Engineering students alternate their terms of work with their semesters of study. The locations can be local or far-flung, and the sites can be as wide-ranging as NASA, Colgate-Palmolive, UPS, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers or smaller, entrepreneurial workplaces.

Those co-op students can emerge with an engineering degree and a demonstrated grasp of fundamentals already tested in a workplace; some universities offer the added value of accredited master’s degree programs. The idea is that graduates already will know how to solve problems and meet modern on-the-job challenges, plus have the confidence that meaningful work experience brings.

Employers want that, which is why students with co-op experience find themselves with an edge in their interview. And co-ops often are stepping stones to job offers, as employers and employees have had some time to figure out whether they would be good fits for future full-time work.

The real-world experience during the college years need not be limited to co-ops. Students may have the chance to be part of funded research projects, solving problems when large companies such as Ford and General Electric or smaller ones come to a university for the expertise of its faculty and students. Those students will gain valuable experience in working with businesses and researchers in state-of-the-art facilities.

What education is needed?

An aspiring engineer can choose from traditional areas of study such as chemical, civil, computer, electrical, industrial, and mechanical engineering. Engineering students need a well-rounded education that includes the liberal arts and a good foundation in sciences.
Multi-disciplinary work is becoming as much the norm at universities as it is in business, industry and science. Areas such as biotechnology, materials science, environmental engineering, or logistics and distribution pull from many areas of study and types of expertise. And employers search for bright workers who can work in teams, solve emerging problems quickly, and adapt - even anticipate - global changes.

Some adults choose to use their engineering education as the strong underpinning for other career in law, medicine, or business. Universities anticipate that demand by offering combined degrees (e.g. joint engineering/master’s of business administration).

Others will continue in their engineering studies, pursing doctorates in areas such as computer science and engineering or fields such as mechanical, electrical, civil, industrial, or chemical engineering. Those will pursue high-level research opportunities and perhaps teach the engineers of the next generation.

What awaits the graduates of respected engineering programs? They can find competitive salaries, job opportunities in industries spanning the sciences, and a good foundation for many career choices.

Editorial provided by Judy Hughes, Communications and Marketing Specialist at the University of Louisville.