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- Education vs. Experience
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Online Education Guide

Majors in Engineering

What do Engineering Majors study?

Many prospective engineering majors confuse engineering with general science. In fact, many engineers involved in discovering solutions to urgent problems must often work faster than the traditional method of scientific discovery would permit.

Aerospace engineer Theodore von Karman frames it another way:
"Scientists discover the world that exists; engineers create the world that never was."

Most engineering majors concentrate on a chosen specialty, supplemented by courses in both science and mathematics.

Depending on the program and the institution, an engineering major could study either industrial practices to prepare for a hands-on job or theoretical principles to lay the groundwork for a research or academic career.

Either way, engineering majors work on the cutting edge of technology, pioneering breakthroughs many years before they trickle down to the general public.

More recently, a number of engineering programs have supplemented the traditional work of engineering majors by exposing them to courses in business, law, and ethics.

With the vast potential for engineering majors to develop solutions that evolve into businesses, educators want their students to graduate with all the tools necessary to function as effective businesspeople as well as creative engineers.

What jobs are hot in Engineering?

Most of today's engineering majors cannot remember a time when computers did not impact every element of our daily lives.

Computer engineers continue to hunt for new ideas that can improve the quality of life as well as the speed of business. From building essential new software applications to refining the ways that familiar technologies work for us, computer engineers constantly search for automated solutions to our most complex problems.

Though sometimes overlooked because of the dot-com hype, civil engineers enjoy tremendous opportunities as our society hunts for innovative solutions to the problems of energy use, water treatment, and transportation. Civil engineers can impact society by bringing new ideas to life from within a company. They also shield us from potential mistakes as gatekeepers and analysts in government and in private oversight bodies.

Two of the fastest growing engineering specialties provide some of the most exciting opportunities for engineering majors:

• Biochemical engineers study living systems to solve problems related to our food supply and our environment. Large agribusiness companies invest heavily to attract and train new biochemical engineers who can help improve crop yields and help feed more of the world's population.
  
  
• Biomedical engineers puzzle over ways that we can live longer, healthier lives. With more of our country's population growing older, health care companies seek engineering majors who can design new equipment and tools to ensure our wellness.

Why should you consider a college major in Engineering?

Even as undergraduates, engineering majors participate in groundbreaking research and development, especially at prestigious research institutions. In fact, major companies like Yahoo! and Google began their corporate lives as university supported research projects by engineering majors.

Even for students who do not launch companies on their own, a solid undergraduate experience often leads to a stable, secure career in industry, especially as more companies look to engineers to solve problems of all kinds.

Because the business world consistently headhunts new engineers, today's engineering majors can expect to build relationships with potential employers while still engaged in undergraduate courses.

Many engineering programs, including online learning programs, offer substantial job placement and career counseling services. Upon graduation, a qualified engineer can earn a starting salary of $40,000 or more per year, along with stock options and other benefits. For many professional engineers, income potential is limited only by the boundaries of their imaginations.

Many engineering majors supplement their coursework with business training that can qualify them for lucrative positions as managers, analysts, and even company presidents. Despite competition from abroad, many companies create new positions for engineers faster than they can fill them.

Even after the "dot-com bust," a study by the U.S. Department of Labor indicates that professional engineers tend to remain employed with the same company for significantly longer stretches of time compared to workers in other professions. Engineering majors can look forward to long, productive, exciting careers that directly impact their communities.

What kinds of candidates make the best Engineering Majors?

If you love to solve problems and you want to make things work better, you could find an engineering major in your future.

Because engineering careers rely on constant innovation, engineering majors should thrive in a changing environment. Likewise, a strong candidate for an engineering major should learn to communicate well and to work productively as part of a team. Despite the occasional competition between engineers, the most important innovations occur when engineers team up and collaborate fully.

To thrive as an engineering college major, prepare yourself as early as possible with coursework in mathematics and science, as well as literature, history, and social sciences.

Because engineering majors analyze solutions to human problems, a broad background in understanding those problems can make a huge difference when investigating human needs. A background in history, for example, can help an engineering major understand the ramifications of a potential solution. Exposure to the social sciences can spawn discussion of the kinds of problems for engineers to investigate. Even the study of literature can add that extra creative spark in the mind of an engineering major who might one day dream up a critical solution in the same way an author conjures up a character or a scene.

What can you expect from our Guides to Engineering Majors?

Take your time to explore our profiles of specific engineering majors. Because engineering encompasses various fields, choosing a specialty early can give your career a valuable head start.

Each profile shows you some ways that engineering majors can turn a specialty into a worthwhile profession. As you review the profile for each major, we will share our insight on:

• the benefits of choosing that major
• some of the potential careers you can pursue
• any of the requirements necessary to launch a career in that field
• how you can take advantage of online learning programs to study from anywhere, often on your own schedule

Find your engineering major . . .

- Aerospace Engineering - Bioengineering - Chemical Engineering - Civil Engineering - Computer Engineering

- Electrical Engineering - Engineering Management - Environmental Engineering - Industrial Engineering - Manufacturing Engineering

- Materials Science - Mechanical Engineering - Petroleum Engineering - Software Engineering - Systems Engineering

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