Optical Enginering

Types of Degrees Optical Enginering Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many optical enginering graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	65
Master’s Degree	28
Doctor’s Degree	20
Basic Certificate	2

What Optical Enginering Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, optical enginering majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Optical Enginering Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

• Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub- atomic structures and processes.

Skills for Optical Enginering Majors

optical enginering majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Abilities for Optical Enginering Majors

A major in optical enginering will prepare for your careers in which the following abilities are important:

• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

What Can You Do With a Optical Enginering Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with optical enginering:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Architectural and Engineering Managers	5.5%	$140,760
Engineering Professors	14.7%	$101,720
Mechatronics Engineers	6.4%	$96,980
Photonics Engineers	6.4%	$96,980
Validation Engineers	6.4%	$96,980

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Optical Enginering?

This major attracts more men than women. About 71% of the graduates in this field are male.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of optical enginering majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	2
Black or African American	1
Hispanic or Latino	12
White	37
International Students	8
Other Races/Ethnicities	5

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Optical Enginering, too. About 12.3% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Optical Enginering

Some careers associated with optical enginering require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

Find out what the typical degree level is for optical enginering careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Some College Courses	1.4%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	2.3%
Bachelor’s Degree	59.9%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	3.2%
Master’s Degree	18.7%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	2.2%
Doctoral Degree	8.8%
Post-Doctoral Training	2.2%

Online Optical Enginering Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	0	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	0	0
Bachelor’s Degree	1	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	4	1
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	2	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Optical Enginering

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to optical enginering.

Major	Number of Grads
Electrical Engineering	27,071
Other Electrical Engineering	468
Telecommunications Engineering	155

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By NASA under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.