Many students choose to focus
their educational and career goals on one of the technical areas for a good
reason: job opportunities for many types of engineers are expected to increase
significantly over the next decade. In addition, engineering can be a really
rewarding career as these professionals often work at the forefront of
technology and receive relatively generous wages. For example, biomedical
engineers design devices or processes that benefit public health and save
lives.
Of course, not all branches of
mechanical engineering should have the same growth rate. In fact, the Bureau of
Labor Statistics (BLS 2016) reports that biomedical engineering is one of the
fastest growing sub-sectors of engineering, whose job opportunities are
expected to increase by 23.1 percent by 2024. Environmental technology (12.4
percent); Oil technology (9.8 percent); Marine technology (8.9 percent); and
civil engineering (8.4 percent). All of these forecast percentages are 724 (7
percent) well above the expected average growth in all occupations.
While these percentages provide a
snapshot of the employment landscape that is expected for technical sub-areas,
the ranking in the evaluation of the expected number of vacancies changes. For
example, positions in biomedical engineering are expected to grow by 23.1
percent by 2024, with a total increase of 5,100; We counter this with civil
engineering, an industry that is expected to increase by 8.4 percent or 23,600
jobs.
This guide examines seven areas
of engineering that are expected to create the most jobs
in engineering by 2024. This includes an explanation of the
typical areas of responsibility, the number of current employees in the
individual areas and future wages.
CIVIL ENGINEERING
According to the Office for Labor
Statistics (December 2015), civil engineering is the fastest growing sub-area.
In particular, civil engineering works are expected to increase by 8.4% between
2014 and 2024, which corresponds to a total increase of 23,600 jobs. In other
words, openings in this subfield will increase from 281,400 to 305,000
nationwide.
What do civil engineers do?
In general, civil engineers are
responsible for planning, operating, monitoring and maintaining construction
projects and systems. These projects can be carried out in the public or
private sector and often involve the construction and maintenance of roads,
bridges, dams, airports, tunnels or even water supply or wastewater treatment
systems. Civil engineers can also review current projects or operations and
present their results to the public on topics such as environmental impact
assessments, suggestions or property descriptions.
MECHANICAL ENGINEER
After civil engineering,
mechanical engineering is expected to record the largest absolute increase in
job vacancies. The BLS (December 2015) says that the number of jobs in this
area is expected to increase by five percent. As a result, 14,600 new jobs will
be created and the number of jobs will increase from 277,500 to 292,100 by
2024.
What do machine manufacturers do?
Although all positions in
mechanical engineering may differ in their particularities, these professionals
are generally responsible for the design, engineering, construction and testing
of thermal and mechanical devices, which often include tools, machines and even
motors. Additionally, mechanical engineers in management positions may be
instructed to monitor the design and development process of other engineers.
ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
Environmental engineers have the
opportunity to work in the fastest growing third division of engineering based
on the absolute number of jobs added. In particular, the BLS (December 2015)
announced that the field will grow by a total of 12%, which corresponds to an
increase from 6,800 jobs or from 55,100 to 61,900 jobs by 2024.
What environmental engineers do
Environmental engineers are in
relatively high demand in today's society, as many individuals and
organizations are looking for engineers to solve complex environmental
problems. Environmental engineers generally have the task of applying technical
ideas and principles as well as those from the fields of biology, soil science
and chemistry in order to develop solutions to the problems of the environment.
The types of projects that environmental technology could work on include
projects to improve public health, waste disposal, water treatment, recycling,
and even air pollution.
BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING
Although biomedical engineering
is a relatively small field with only 22,100 jobs in December 2015, many new
jobs are expected to open in the next seven years. According to the Statistical
Office for Labor (December 2015), 5,100 jobs will be created in biomedical
engineering by 2024, bringing the total number of jobs to 27,200. This is also
the fastest growing technical breakdown in terms of size, as it represents a
total growth of 23.1 percent between 2014 and 2024, more than three times the
average growth in all U.S. professions over this period (7 percent).
What do biomedical engineers do?
Biomedical engineers work in a
hybrid field and combine the principles of engineering with others of medicine
and life sciences to develop devices, devices, software and even computer
systems used in the healthcare sector. Biomedical engineers may also be
responsible for the ongoing evaluation of medical devices and for training
others to use medical devices. In addition, these specialists publish the
research results to advance the whole area.
PETROLEUM ENGINEERING
As more and more industries are
looking for cleaner forms of energy, there is a general dependence on fossil
fuels and the work of oil engineers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (December
2015) predicts that 3,400 new jobs will be created in the oil engineering
sector between 2014 and 2024, increasing the total number from 35,100 to
38,500. This corresponds to an expected growth rate of around 10 percent, which
is well above the average for all other sectors of the country.
What do petroleum engineers do?
Oil engineers are responsible for
planning and developing methods for extracting oil and gas from underground
deposits. Additionally, some oil engineers focus on finding new ways to extract
oil and gas from older wells. Depending on the task, an oil engineer may need
to use computerized drilling equipment to connect larger areas to individual
wells, build oil and gas wells, or even develop larger methods of injecting
water, chemicals or other substances into an oil tank.
COMPUTER HARDWARE ENGINEERING
As computers and computer systems
have become so ubiquitous in today's society, the demand for more computer
hardware engineers continues to grow over the years. The BLS (December 2015)
reports that this subfield expects three percent growth between 2014 and 2024
only, although that means an overall increase of 2,400 jobs or a move from
77,700 to 80,100 in seven years.
What Computer Hardware Engineers
Do
Computer hardware engineers
perform various tasks by focusing on applying technical principles to computer
problems. For example, computer hardware engineers generally research, design,
develop, and test computer systems and components such as processors, storage
devices, networks, circuit boards, and routers. Many conduct detailed research
to advance the field of computer systems.
INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING
Although the industrial
engineering sector is expected to grow by only one percent in the next seven
years, this means an increase of 2,100 jobs (BLS December 2015). In other
words, the number of vacancies is expected to increase from 241,100 to 243,200
by 2024.
What industrial engineers do
The work of an industrial
engineer generally focuses on the concept of efficiency in production.
Depending on the work environment, an industrial engineer can be tasked with
developing efficient systems that involve people, materials, machines,
information and energy in the creation of a product or the provision of a
specific service.
CONCLUSION: PURSUING A CAREER IN A HIGH-GROWTH ENGINEERING SUBFIELD
Almost all technical areas are
expected to grow in the next seven years. According to the Bureau of Labor
Statistics (2016), only three engineering sectors are expected to lose their
jobs by 2024, including aerospace engineering, electrical engineering, and
nuclear technology.
However, this trend is not the
fate of all engineering disciplines. Conversely, a number of sub-areas of
engineering are expected to increase over the next seven years, some of which
are significant. As already mentioned, civil engineering positions are expected
to grow by 8.4 percent or a total of 23,600. and while biomedical engineering
can only create 5,100 jobs, it actually means almost 25 percent growth in a
single decade (2014-24).
In short, a career in engineering
can be worthwhile and profitable, and can lead to a wealth of opportunities for
the future.
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