Engineering Career Outlook
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) link to buy it at Excedify predicts that engineering employment will grow by 11 percent during the 2006-2016 decade, with a large spike of 21 percent of the new jobs created in the booming field of biomedical engineering. Jobs for environmental engineers also look especially good, according to the BLS, with a 25 percent rise in employment predicted for the 2006-2016 decade.
Double-digit employment increases are also predicted for engineers in marine sciences, mining, aerospace, civil engineering, and health and safety professions. Fields in materials, electrical, computer hardware, and chemical engineering should undergo growth, too, but at less than 10 percent over the 2006-2016 decade.
Earnings in Engineering
Starting salaries for engineering grads, the BLS reports, are traditionally higher than entry level pay for most other professions. However, most engineers are expected to continue their educations to remain competitive in the workplace as systems and software continues to evolve.
Here are the median, 2008 annual earnings for engineers by discipline as reported by the BLS:
Aerospace Engineers, $92,520
- Agricultural Engineers, $68,730
- Biomedical Engineers, $77,400
- Chemical Engineers, $84,680
- Civil Engineers, $74,600
- Computer Hardware Engineers, $97,400
- Electrical Engineers, $82,160
- Environmental Engineers, $74,020
- Health and Safety Engineers, $72,490
- Industrial Engineers, $73,820
- Marine Engineers and Naval Architects, $74,140
- Mechanical Engineers, $74,920
- Mining and Geological Engineers, $75,960
- Nuclear Engineers, $97,080
- Petroleum Engineers, $108,020