Pursuing Engineering Jobs: Education
If you are looking for power engineering jobs or chemical engineering jobs, you’re going to first need to have the basic educational requirements. Obviously, you’re going to need an undergraduate degree in engineering but you should also make sure that you specialize during your course of study in a particular area of engineering. You may also need to take courses that would be related. For biomedical engineering jobs, taking biology and science courses would make sense as additional preparation for the work ahead. If you wanted to focus on marine engineering jobs, you might be more interested in physics or fields associated with mechanics.
While getting a degree in engineering can be challenging, just getting into many of these programs can present its own obstacles. First, you’re going to need a strong math background in high school. You will need to get into the highest math classes possible, such as trigonometry and calculus. Additionally, you will need to demonstrate strong science abilities. Taking courses in biology, chemistry, and physics at the high school level is going to be critical for your success at getting into one of these touch programs.
Most degree programs in engineering are going to be from four year institutions. However, you might be able to find some 2-year programs which work in conjunction with universities. You can complete the first part of your training at the 2-year school and the rest at the university. Otherwise, you’ll want to focus on a 4-year degree. Anything less is not likely to get you any specialist jobs in the engineering field.
Finally, you should consider getting a graduate degree. Discuss with your advisor the best graduate program for the field you want to pursue. In some cases, you may be better off expanding your field of options with an MBA or keeping things narrow by taking a more specialized engineering program. These are important decisions you need to make based on your own future career goals.
Getting to Work
If you are going to be working for the public, you’ll need to become licensed. This is a requirement in all 50 states and is a good idea so that you’ll have a full-range of career options available to you. You can take the first half of the licensing exam after graduation but the second half can only be administered after you’ve been working in the engineering field for a period of time.
Once you do secure a job in any of these engineering fields, you’ll need to do more training. Almost every engineering job listed above is going to require hands-on, on-the-job training. As an entry level engineer, you’re going to be closely supervised and monitored by more experienced engineers. Their reports on your performance will determine how quickly and how far you can advance through the ranks.
Securing Employment as a Specialist Engineer
While engineering is expected to have decent growth between now and 2016, some of the specialty areas are going to see differing levels of growth. For example, biomedical engineering jobs are supposed to grow at a rate of more than 20% which is much faster than engineering in general. Environmental engineering will grow even faster.
However, not all engineering jobs will be so plentiful. Materials engineering jobs and mechanical engineering jobs are going to grow at a sluggish pace of 5% or less. The average for engineering jobs is 11%. Obviously, doing your homework on these different specialty fields is going to help you make the right choice in terms of a field.
If you’re interested in finding jobs in any of these specialty positions, you need to be able to start using the Internet to find the work you want. Many engineering positions will require you to relocate. That means going online is the best way to find a wide range of available jobs. There are sites available that specialize in engineering jobs. You can submit your criteria for a position, including the specialty area in which you are interested and the geographic location in which you would like to work.
Once you receive notifications about possible jobs that meet your specifications you can begin applying. Be sure to have a strong resume available that you can submit to prospective employers. Some will accept online or email submissions which will speed up the overall process. However, engineering is a competitive field so do whatever you can to be sure that your qualifications stand out against the competition.
