Engineering the Right Career Move - CareerAlley

Engineering the Right Career Move - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. Against the backdrop of Americas still-fragile recovery from the Great Recession of 2007-2009, one career field seems to be outpacing most others. Young college graduates with newly minted engineering degrees face a much brighter future than most of their peers, according to U.S. News World Report. In an article that appears in its Best Graduate Schools 2014 guidebook, the magazine said engineering has become the it degree. Arlene Weintraub, the articles author, noted that the unemployment rate for engineers as of late 2012 was 2 percent, roughly half of the 3.9 percent jobless rate among all those with bachelors degrees. Multiple Disciplines Engineering is an extremely broad field. In addition to disciplines that focus on specific industries, such as aerospace, biomedicine, chemicals and plastics, nuclear, and petroleum, engineering also encompasses other disciplines that have application across a wide variety of industries. Included in this latter group are civil engineers, computer hardware and software engineers, electrical and electronics engineers, environmental engineers, health and safety engineers, industrial engineers, materials engineers, mechanical engineers, and mining/geological engineers. While the outlook is relatively bright for all engineering disciplines, some seem to be riding the crest of sharply increased demand. Civil Engineers Americas aging infrastructure, which gave rise to some frightening headlines about the state of bridges on the nations highways, will certainly benefit civil engineers who face the daunting task of designing and building spans that will be safer and longer lasting. Civil engineers will also play a key role in designing structures better able to withstand the devastating effects of catastrophic weather events, such as super storm Sandy, according to U.S. News World Report. In its Occupational Outlook Handbook, the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that the number of U.S. civil engineers will increase roughly 20 percent in the period from 2012 to 2022. The BLS estimated that 272,900 Americans were employed as civil engineers as of 2012. Median pay for this job in 2012 was $79,340, according to BLS. Environmental Engineers The countrys quest for environmentally friendly ways of getting things done bodes well for careers in environmental engineering, which BLS predicts will increase by 8,100 jobs between 2012 and 2022. Environmental engineers are challenged with finding ways to improve recycling, waste disposal, public health, and air and water pollution control. To get the job done, environment engineers utilize the principles of biology, chemistry, engineering, and soil science. The BLS reports that the total number of environmental engineers as of 2012 was just over 53,000. Median pay in 2012 was estimated at $80,890. Software Engineers Those wondering what skills make engineers a get for technology companies will find that the burgeoning information technology industry is looking in particular for engineers that specialize in the development of computers applications and systems software. Not surprisingly, BLS expects strong job growth for software engineers, predicting that the number of jobs in this field will grow from a total of 1,018,000 in 2012 to more than 1,240,000 by 2022. Software engineers are responsible for developing the operating systems software that run entire devices and networks, as well as the programs that govern the operations of specific applications. The median salary for software engineers was $93,350 in 2012. Petroleum Engineers Despite the quest for cleaner forms of energy, the number of jobs in petroleum engineering is expected to show strong growth between 2012 and 2022. The BLS predicts the number of petroleum engineers will grow by more than 25 percent during the decade. Petroleum engineers are responsible for developing methods to extract oil and natural gas from deposits beneath the earths surface. They also look for new ways to extract oil and gas from older wells. As of 2012, the median pay for petroleum engineers was $130,280, the highest median pay among all disciplines of engineering. About the Author: Don Amerman is a freelance author who writes extensively about a wide array of business and personal finance topics. Also take a look at Top 6 Questions Asked for Embedded Engineers During an Interview This is a Guest post. If you would like to submit a guest post to CareerAlley, please follow these guest post guidelines. Good luck in your search.Joey Trebif