When the time comes to look for engineer jobs, you might think you're too late, or that you have gotten a degree in the wrong specialty, given the landscape at that point; for example, at present the biomedical field is very, very hot and engineers with that specialization are in high demand. That said, of course, things could change tomorrow so that another sector is going to be in greater demand.
Therefore, don't think that you've made a mistake, necessarily, by focusing your education on one particular area. In fact, you probably had to do that just to graduate. It's not a particular worry, because many if not most employers will accept engineers from other related specialties as employees even if it differs from their own; this is because engineering skills in many sectors overlap. It's difficult to know how the industry is going to change from day to day; it may be that currently, one sector is hurting for engineers, while another has more than it can handle. Therefore it may be a problem for new engineers to find jobs in their desired sector.
Before you begin your engineer job search
Before you begin your engineer job search, and even while you're still getting ready to jump into your education, think about the area you want to specialize in. Your engineering degree is going to take about 5 to 7 years to complete (including graduation), the industry can change significantly from the time you begin your education to the time you graduate. Because of that, it's going to be difficult to tell just which industry is going to need the most engineers by the time you're ready for employment.
Therefore, instead of trying to focus on one particular sector that is currently in demand, a better approach is to focus on something you love and will always have a passion for. It should also be said that as technology changes and as information in the field continually updates across the board, your education is going to continue indefinitely, too. Therefore, it's possible that you may switch streams at some point in your career, especially given that your skills might be needed in some particular area you haven't considered so far.
If you're looking now
If you've already got your engineering degree or are about to graduate and you have focused on a particular sector, it's likely that those skills are going to apply in another sector that may have more jobs, in the event you can't find something in your first choice. Check with your academic advisor or your career placement office for advice on how you should focus your job search.
You can also research the Internet to find out what the hottest engineering jobs are. Job sites list engineering jobs galore. You can also choose whether you want to work for the private sector or for the government. Be advised that if you do work for the government, you're probably going to have to take a civil service examination in addition to any other examinations you'll have to take to be licensed for your state. If the job you want will have you working for the public, you're going to need state licensing. You actually need four years of work experience before you can even take the exam to qualify for the license. To get around that, though, most states have a provision whereby you can take the first part of the exam immediately after graduation. After you've done that, you are called an "engineer in training." After you've gotten four years of work experience, you can take the second part of the exam, after which you'll be fully licensed. In most cases, though, you're going to have to continue your education to be qualified for relicensing every few years. Most states do recognize other states' licenses, assuming that those state licenses meet or exceed the requirements of the state in question.
Current "hot" industries
At present, engineering job positions like biomedical engineers, civil engineers, or environmental engineers are in the process of growing steeply, so that many new jobs will be available in these industries. However, be advised that this can change on a dime, so you should check back (there's lots of research on this available on the Internet) when you're in the process of graduating as applicable to find out what that particular time period has for its fast-growing industries.
Other considerations
In addition to your particular skill set as an engineer, you are going to need to be good at working in a team; so you'll need to be good with interpersonal skills and with both written and spoken communications. You will be working with a diverse number of people, so you'll need to be able to talk to company managers, for example, in a way they can understand and that's not "engineer-speak."
Another consideration is that many engineers go on to get graduate degrees in business administration or another related field, because many engineers go on to managerial positions within companies once they've moved up to that level. Therefore, keep your eyes open and be prepared to expand your focus if necessary, as the job market dictates.
Compensation
On an average, engineers across all industries and all levels of experience made about $75000 to $108000 as of 2006.
