36 percent of these engineering management careers are in the field of manufacturing, 33 percent are in professional and technical services, while the rest are at government offices or engineering firms. Engineering Manager Jobs entail supervision and leading of engineers, technicians or scientists in their daily tasks, coordinating quality control and production as well as research and development of new procedures and products. They spend most of their time in an office working on a computer and depending on the field of specialty, 20-25 percent of the time they may be required to travel. The opportunities for Engineering Manager Jobs are looking better, especially in the environmental and biomedical engineering fields which are expected to grow in the next few years. Based on the Occupational Outlook Handbook, the average salary for engineering managers was $115,270 annually as of 2008 but this may vary depending on the type of employer. Engineering managers who conduct research are paid on the average around $141,000 per year, while those working for non-profit organizations average around $78,000 a year.
Included among these Engineering Manager Jobs are mechanical engineering manager jobs, which are slowly growing as these jobs become available when current job holders retire from that position or move on into a different post. To advance into a mechanical engineer manager position, years of work as either engineer or scientist is a pre-requisite, as well as a good educational foundation in the areas of math, science and/or engineering. Among the duties and responsibilities of a mechanical engineer manager is the managing of research and development teams; planning and establishing a budget; coordinating and direction of production, testing, quality assurance; and assessing equipment and machinery in manufacturing plants. Among the opportunities for career growth for a Mechanical Engineer manager are to be hired in an executive sales position if the company sells complex products and services that can be sold only by a knowledgeable engineer. To be hired in any of the Engineering Manager Jobs found in manufacturing industries, completion of a bachelor's degree is the minimum requirement while some employers may prefer completion of a master's degree in engineering management (MEM), and a master's degree in business administration (MBA). Education is truly important to land Engineering Manager Jobs thus, without formal education, one cannot be hired as such. Another important consideration when searching for engineering manager positions is work experience. It is very rare for an engineer with no job experience to have an engineering manager post. Employers would want their engineering manager to be well equipped, knowledgeable and to have earned a certain level of expertise in a specific field of engineering. All these can only be realized if an engineer has been exposed to the specific field for several years. To be victorious in the pursuit of a successful engineering manager career, these two, education and work experience are the key ingredients. Other additional skills which are essential to a successful engineering manager job are the ability to resolve conflict and ability to maintain work flow. Since Engineering Manager Jobs are responsible for the whole operation of the project, good time management skills are important to develop in order to ensure continuous work flow. Maintaining good rapport with all the people on the team assigned is also important since you will be dealing with these people for more than 40 hours a week and good working relationships with them can easily help in resolving conflicts and problems. It is also imperative that engineering managers exhibit strong leadership, business management and communication skills. Without these attributes, which are vital in the success of an engineering manager career, one cannot expect to become successful in an engineering management position.
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