STEM Careers

Engineers, technologists, and technicians are changing the world all of the time. They dream up creative, practical solutions and work with other smart, inspiring people to invent, design, and create things that matter.

Types of engineering

Aerospace

Agriculture & Biosystems

Biomedical

Chemical

Civil

Computer Science

Electrical

Environmental

Industrial

Manufacturing

Materials Science

Mechanical

Mining & Metallurgical

Nuclear

Petroleum

Project Management

What is licensure & why is it important?

Licensed professional engineers, P.E.s, are charged with preserving the essentials that protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public. By meeting standards in education, exams, and experience, professional engineers demonstrate that they have the skills and knowledge needed to perform their jobs. As licensed professionals, they must continue to practice in a manner that is both technically competent and ethically sound. Their first responsibility is to protect the public.

10 Reasons to Love Engineering

1 Love your work, and live your life too!

Engineering is an exciting profession, but one of its greatest advantages is that it will leave you time for all the other things in your life that you love!

2Be creative

Engineering is a great outlet for the imagination—the perfect field for independent thinkers.

3Work with great people

Engineering takes teamwork, and you’ll collaborate with all kinds of people inside and outside the field. Whether they’re designers or architects, doctors or entrepreneurs, you’ll be surrounded by smart, inspiring people.

4Solve problems, design things that matter

Come up with solutions no one else has thought of. Make your mark on the world.

5Never be bored

Creative problem solving will take you into uncharted territory, and the ideas of your colleagues will expose you to different ways of thinking. Be prepared to be fascinated and to have your talents stretched in ways you never expected.

6Earn a big salary

Engineers not only earn lots of respect, but they’re highly paid. Even the starting salary for an entry-level job is impressive!

7Enjoy job flexibility

An engineering degree offers you lots of freedom in finding your dream job. It can be a launching pad for jobs in business, design, medicine, law, and government. To employers or graduate schools, an engineering degree reflects a well-educated individual who has been taught ways of analyzing and solving problems that can lead to success in all kinds of fields.

8Travel

Field work is a big part of engineering. You may end up designing a skyscraper in London or developing safe drinking-water systems in Asia. Or you may stay closer to home, working with a nearby high-tech company or a hospital.

9Make a difference

Everywhere you look you’ll see examples of engineering having a positive effect on everyday life. Cars are safer, sound systems deliver better acoustics, medical tests are more accurate, and computers and cell phones are a lot more fun! You’ll be giving back to your community.

10Change the world

Imagine what life would be like without pollution controls to preserve the environment, lifesaving medical equipment, or low-cost building materials for fighting global poverty. All this takes engineering. In very real and concrete ways, engineers save lives, prevent disease, reduce poverty, and protect our planet.

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What Engineers Do

Engineers, technologists, and technicians are working to change life for the better in ways that we can hardly even imagine, like:

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Fitness Trackers and the Evolution of Medical Technology

Wearable devices that only track steps and heart rate are so 2019. The next big trend is devices that track specific health issues, like wearable continuous glucose monitors for diabetes patients.

Combine this with 5G sensors that can transmit the data directly to health care professionals and we’ll begin to see a big shift in patient monitoring and personalized care.

Read Full Article

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Recyclable Sneakers?

Your sneakers are stinking up more than just your closet. Did you know that 90% of shoes end up in landfills? Yet, when a car reaches the end of its life cycle up to 80% of a car can be recycled. Why the difference? It’s mostly a result of the manufacturing process. Traditionally, companies don’t think about what happens when a product reaches the end of its usual life.

But a new commitment to an idea called circular economy is changing that mindset. Its challenging companies and communities to design waste out of manufacturing process and to think about future uses of the materials that make up your sneakers once they are no longer in style or fit.

Read Full Article

Meet Some Engineers

What do engineers really do? How do they spend their days? The answers may surprise you.

“Some [of the] key moments throughout my life in Puerto Rico that made me want to become a civil engineer are things that should not be happening in society.”

From a young age, Colón De La Cruz recognized his community’s failing infrastructure conditions. Driving over a pothole should not put travelers at risk, like it did his family. Nor should the daytime sky turn dark because of falling ash from a nearby landfill, as it did when he was five.

Dedicated to his homeland, he made the difficult decision to decline a job offer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Instead, he focused his attention on the Puerto Rico Infrastructure Report Card. A trailblazing team of about 20 people helped support, motivate, and inspire him. It now serves as an important tool for the government in reconstructing Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria’s devastation and reinventing what its future will look like. The report has since garnered international media coverage and has been notably referenced by U.S. President Joe Biden during his 2020 election campaign.

Hector Colon De La Cruz
Civil Engineer
O&M Consulting Engineering

“I often meet in person with industry experts who make buildings more energy efficient.”

As an energy engineer, I often meet in person with industry experts who make buildings more energy efficient. I use what I learn from them as I walk through different kinds of buildings, finding ways to make them use less energy. I email and talk with people at the Department of Homeland Security to help them with their energy management program. I write about new ways to convey the message of how important energy efficiency is to my clients, who mostly work in different federal agencies. Recently my colleagues and I wrote the guidelines for the student design competition 2017 U.S. Department of Energy Race to Zero, which hundreds of students participate in every year. Throughout the week, I’m on the phone and using email as I oversee project budgets, scope new opportunities for clients, and make staff plans.

With all of these responsibilities, my days are never the same! It is immensely satisfying to know that everything I do helps people save energy by making buildings more efficient and by using renewable energy.

Rachel Romero
Energy Engineer,
National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Engineering Trends

$91,010

Engineer’s average salary ³

$70,501

Engineering Technologist’s average salary ³

$61,000

Engineering Technician’s average salary

1 million

more STEM jobs in 2029 than there were in 2019. ⁴

References:

1. https://www.medicaltechnologyschools.com/medical-lab-technician/top-new-health-technologies
2. https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2020/brands-circular-economy-2020/709596
3. Bureau of Labor Statistics
4. https://smartasset.com/checking-account/fastest-growing-stem-jobs-in-the-us-2021