Engineering and Engineering Technology
Engineering Transfer Program
Computer Aided Drafting - CAD
 

Fields of Engineering

 

Engineering is divided into many or fewer named fields depending on the speaker’s interest in fine division. Originally engineering was military, in that engineers were the designers and constructors of fortifications and assault devices like catapults and battering rams.

Then Civil distinguished the focus on the civilian’s needs for buildings, aqueducts, highways, etc. Now there are many specialization's, some descriptions are listed below. Within all of these engineering fields there are different focuses that should match any personality.
Engineers can be classified by their fundamental academic discipline. We have:

  • Electrical engineers
  • Mechanical engineers
  • Civil engineers
  • Chemical engineers
  • Industrial engineers

These are the five largest so-called traditional areas of engineering (Note: Computer engineering can be considered as part of electrical engineering or as a separate academic discipline). 84% of the 64,946 BS degrees awarded in engineering in 1993/94 were in these disciplines.

There are also more specialized, non-traditional fields of engineering. Aerospace engineering, materials engineering, biomedical engineering, ocean engineering, environmental engineering, petroleum engineering, mining engineering, nuclear engineering, and manufacturing engineering are a few examples of these. 16% of BS degrees awarded in 1993/94 went to students majoring in these fields.

Engineering Disciplines Ranked by Number

Of BS Degrees – 1993/94

"Engineering and Technology Degrees 1994"

Reference: Association of Engineering Societies Engineering Workforce commission of America
Discipline
Number of Accredited Programs
Percent of Total Engineering Degrees

Electrical Engineer
261
24.5%

Mechanical Engineer
234
24%

Civil Engineer
207
15.1%

Chemical Engineer
146
8.2%

Computer Engineer
73
7.1%

Industrial Engineer
96
4.7%

Aerospace Engineer
57
3.6%

General Engineer
27
1.8%

Engineering Science
29
1.6%

Materials/Metallurgy Engr
61
1.3%

Biomedical Engineer
21
1.1%

Architectural Engineer
13
0.8%

Environmental Engineer
15
0.8%

Marine/Naval/Ocean Engr
17
0.8%

Systems Engineer
10
0.7%

Agricultural Engineer
45
0.6%

Petroleum Engineer
21
0.4%

Mining/Geol Engineer
35
0.4%

Nuclear Engineer
25
0.4%

Ceramic Engineer
12
0.4%

Engineer Management
3
0.4%

Manufacture Engineer
11
0.3%

Total
1419
100%

Employment of engineers by Industry Sector

Reference: Science and Engineering Indicators – 1993

"National Science Board Publication NSB 93-1"
Industry Sector
Number of Engineers
Percentage of Total Engineers
  • Manufacturing:

Transportation equipment
202,000
15.5%
Machinery
148,000
11.3%
Electrical equipment
137,000
10.5%
Scientific equipment
116,000
8.9%
Chemical products
50,000
3.8%
Petroleum refining
11,000
0.8%
  • Non-Manufacturing:

Engineering services
162,000
12.4%
Communications/Transport
80,000
6.1%

Trade
75,000
5.7%
Computer services
69,000
5.3%
Construction
30,000
2.3%

Mining
24,000
1.8%

Career Opportunities

 

Upgrading Your Education is the Key

Engineers’ skills are just like computers. They need to be regularly upgraded or they’ll become obsolete. "The half life of specialized engineering knowledge—the period of time over which half of what you learned [in school] has been superseded—continues to contract," said Frank Huband, executive director of the American Society for Engineering Education.

To know whether heading back to school is the right choice, engineers must define where they are, their careers and where they would like to be in the future. They’ll also want to learn about the different kinds of programs available, and how those degrees might help them to reach their goal, Finally, they’ll want to consider the potential payback on their investment of time and money, and when might be the best time to enroll.