Textile Engineering

Types of Degrees Textile Engineering Majors Are Getting

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

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	214
Master’s Degree	64
Doctor’s Degree	28
Graduate Certificate	4

What Textile Engineering Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to textile 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 Textile Engineering Majors

Textile Engineering majors often go into careers in which the following 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.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• 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.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

Skills for Textile Engineering Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to textile engineering:

• 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 Textile Engineering Majors

Textile 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 Textile Engineering Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with textile engineering:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Architectural and Engineering Managers	5.5%	$140,760
Engineering Professors	14.7%	$101,720
Materials Engineers	1.9%	$92,390

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

This is a less frequently chosen undergraduate major. Only 214 students graduated with a bachelor’s degree in textile engineering in 2021, making it rank #249 in popularity. The major attracts more women than men. About 80% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	19
Black or African American	15
Hispanic or Latino	14
White	140
International Students	6
Other Races/Ethnicities	20

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Textile Engineering. About 2.8% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• China
• India
• South Korea
• Iran
• Bangladesh

How Much Do Textile Engineering Majors Make?

Bachelor’s Degree Starting Salary

Data from the U.S. Department of Education shows that textile engineering students who graduated in 2017-2019 with a bachelor’s degree made a median starting salary of $45,374 per year. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $45,374 (25th percentile) and $45,374 (75th percentile).

We don’t know for sure if all of these people took jobs related to textile engineering so take that into consideration.

Salaries According to BLS

Average salaries range from $96,930 to $148,970 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to textile 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 Textile Engineering

Some careers associated with textile engineering require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to textile engineering have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	1.7%
Bachelor’s Degree	45.5%
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.	5.1%
Master’s Degree	27.1%
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.	2.9%
Doctoral Degree	12.8%
Post-Doctoral Training	4.9%

Online Textile Engineering Programs

In 2020-2021, 4 schools offered a textile engineering program of some type. 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	1
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	3	0
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	3	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Textile Engineering Worth It?

The median salary for a textile 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 Textile Engineering

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to textile 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
General Engineering	11,796
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
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 Unhindered by Talent under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.