General Engineering

Types of Degrees General Engineering Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many general engineering graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Associate Degree	4,756
Master’s Degree	2,969
Bachelor’s Degree	2,652
Undergraduate Certificate	502
Doctor’s Degree	477
Basic Certificate	338
Graduate Certificate	102

What General Engineering Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, engineering 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 Engineering Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in engineering should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• 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.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

Skills for Engineering Majors

When studying engineering, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• 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 Engineering Majors

As you progress with your engineering degree, there are several abilities you should pick up that will help you in whatever related career you choose. These abilities include:

• 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 General Engineering Major?

People with a engineering degree often go into the following careers:

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

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in General Engineering?

This is a less frequently chosen undergraduate major. Only 2,652 students graduated with a bachelor’s degree in general engineering in 2021, making it rank #116 in popularity. This major tends to be male dominated. About 75% of recent graduates are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	163
Black or African American	127
Hispanic or Latino	249
White	1,706
International Students	220
Other Races/Ethnicities	187

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Engineering, too. About 8.3% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• China
• India
• Saudi Arabia
• South Korea
• Iran

How Much Do General Engineering Majors Make?

Bachelor’s Degree Starting Salary

The median starting salary of students who graduated in 2017-2019 with a bachelor’s degree in engineering was $61,282 per year. These stats come from the U.S. Department of Education. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $56,566 (25th percentile) and $63,561 (75th percentile).

One thing to note here is that not all of these people may be working in careers related to engineering.

Salaries According to BLS

Average salaries range from $99,410 to $148,970 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to engineering. This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to General Engineering

Some degrees associated with engineering may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. 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 engineering careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	2.5%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	2.1%
Bachelor’s Degree	43.9%
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.	8.7%
Master’s Degree	21.6%
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.	3.5%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	1.3%
Doctoral Degree	13.0%
Post-Doctoral Training	3.5%

Online General Engineering Programs

In the 2020-2021 academic year, 745 schools offered some type of general engineering program. 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)	35	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	7	0
Associate’s Degree	414	10
Bachelor’s Degree	25	4
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	121	22
Post-Master’s	5	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	51	3
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	2	1
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in General Engineering Worth It?

The median salary for a engineering grad is $113,680 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 185% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $1,475,600 after 20 years!

Majors Related to General Engineering

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

Major	Number of Grads
Mechanical Engineering	46,178
Electrical Engineering	28,844
Civil Engineering	21,388
Computer Engineering	17,987
Chemical Engineering	12,917
Biomedical Engineering	12,811
Industrial Engineering	9,072
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering	8,001
Systems Engineering	3,904
Materials Engineering	3,415
Other Engineering	2,760
Environmental Engineering	2,759
Operations Research	1,698
Agricultural Engineering	1,472
Engineering Science	1,454
Electrical and Computer Engineering.	1,378
Petroleum Engineering	1,256
Robotics Engineering	1,243
Architectural Engineering	1,012
Engineering Physics	994
Manufacturing Engineering	947
Construction Engineering	878
Nuclear Engineering	864
Marine Engineering	445
Biological Engineering	410
Polymer & Plastics Engineering	360
Geoscience Engineering	325
Mining Engineering	314
Textile Engineering	310
Ocean Engineering	285
Engineering Mechanics	272
Metallurgical Engineering	179
Energy Systems Engineering	138
Biochemical Engineering	109
Ceramic Engineering	94
Surveying Engineering	73
Electromechanical Engineering	45
Forest Engineering	41
Paper Science & Engineering	27
Engineering Chemistry	13

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 Rémi Kaupp under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.