Engineering

Types of Degrees Engineering Majors Are Getting

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

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	3,660
Associate Degree	2,559
Bachelor’s Degree	2,387
Doctor’s Degree	452
Undergraduate Certificate	149
Basic Certificate	134
Graduate Certificate	96

What Engineering Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to engineering and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being 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

A major in engineering prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

• 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

Engineering majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• 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 Engineering Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with engineering:

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 Engineering?

This major tends to be male dominated. About 72% 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	145
Black or African American	141
Hispanic or Latino	264
White	1,476
International Students	181
Other Races/Ethnicities	180

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Engineering. About 7.6% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to 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 Engineering 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)	16	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	1	0
Associate’s Degree	228	6
Bachelor’s Degree	27	6
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	123	20
Post-Master’s	5	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	51	4
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	2	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Engineering

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

Major	Number of Grads
Pre-Engineering	2,297
Applied Engineering	507

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.