Choosing a major in the STEM field can be a incredibly complex and difficult decision. Narrowing down your choices to an engineering degree is tough enough; from there, the types of engineering degrees are so varied and specified that you really have to have an exact idea of your desired career path.
Let’s take a look at a few types of engineering degrees, and the jobs that they can lead to in the field.
Architectural Engineering
Compared to other degrees on the list, architectural engineering is a relative newcomer to the STEM field. It burst onto the scene on the tails of the Industrial Revolution, and it is thanks to architectural engineers that we have beautiful city skylines and engineering miracles such as the BurjKhalifa in Dubai.
While an architect is the artist behind a skyscraper or building, an architectural engineer is the person who makes the dream a reality. Everything from ensuring the safety of the structure to keeping clean air flowing inside the building is dependent on the architectural engineer.
Architectural engineering is considered a branch of the field of civil engineering. To apply for an architectural engineering degree, a bachelor’s degree is required. Often aspiring students will need to have passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam and the Principles & Practice-of-Engineering (PE) exam.
Electrical, Electronic and Communications Engineering
Any electronic device or communications device needs this type of engineer. Telephones, transmitters, satellites, televisions, and microwaves are only a few of the many devices handled by electrical, electronic and communications engineers. With this degree an engineer can get a job in the filed of designing, developing, and creating electronic devices.
Automation Engineer
With an automation engineering degree, you can get a job involving the supervision and streamlining of manufacturing and automation. A bachelor’s degree is necessary to apply for this degree. As an automation engineer you will oversee factory production, design and regulate automated devices, and much more.
Any factory where robots and machines are used in production has the work of an automation engineer behind it. Without automation engineering, the Industrial Revolution would definitely not have been even a remote possibility. The material world we live in was brought into being thanks to the skills of countless automation engineers.
Heating, Ventilation, Air-Conditioning & Refrigeration Engineering
With this type of engineering degree, you will be prepared for any job in the heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC) field.
To get a job overseeing as well as controlling, or designing technology for indoor environments—such as heating, cooling, or ensuring general air quality— you will need this degree.
Environmental Engineering
This type of engineering focuses on the environment of the planet. It deals with air pollution, ocean pollution, and other effects on the environment. Any job involving clean energy solutions, recycling, or waste control will require this degree.
If you are interested in the effects mankind has had on the world’s environment and wish to ensure the safety of the planet, this degree can help you get a job where you can make a real difference. All other engineering degrees on this list would be useless without a world to live in, and protecting the environment is a key part in keeping the human race going.
Welding Engineering
All aspects of welding technology are covered with this degree. You will learn the science behind welding, and how to apply the necessary mathematics.
This degree will let you find a job dealing with manufactured products that require welding, as well as equip you with the knowledge necessary for material selection, manufacturing methods, operation of welding tools, and much more.
Chemical Engineering
An engineer with this specific degree will apply knowledge and basic principles of chemistry, physics, biology, and often mathematics to the production or use of chemicals.
This is an expansive degree that numerous jobs in the STEM field require—in fact, to get any job involving the use of dangerous chemicals, you will need this degree. A chemical engineer may work in chemical laboratories, manufacture plastics and resins, work with nanomaterials or biological chemistry, and much more.
Aeronautical/Aerospace Engineering
This type of engineer is concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. With this degree, you will be what is colloquially known as a “rocket scientist”.
Airplanes, space stations, rockets, and other flying craft are designed, controlled, and fixed by aeronautical and aerospace engineers. If your dream has been to work at NASA, or design jet planes, or work with flight technology, this is the degree for you. An extensive knowledge of physics and math is required to apply for this degree.
Mechanical Engineering
Mechanical engineering applies math, physics, and engineering principles to the general production of objects that move. That’s right, this is one of the broadest engineering degrees available, as mechanical engineers can be found in pretty much every branch of the STEM field.
The American-Society of Mechanical-Engineers (ASME) lists a staggering 36 different divisions solely in the field of mechanical engineering. This degree can get you a job designing and manufacturing everything from tiny parts to huge, complex machines. As the world is run on machines, this degree will give you endless options for a satisfying and interesting career.
Computer Engineering
The world would be a very different place without the complex work of computer engineers. Think of where we’d be without the Internet. Hard to imagine, isn’t it?
The astonishing leaps of technology made in this field have laid the foundation for the digital revolution of the 20th century, and there’s plenty more to come as new generations of computer engineers spread out into the working world.
A degree in computer engineering will give you job options in developing both computer hardware and software, fixing computers, designing the next MacBook, and more. Any job in digital technology requires skilled computer engineers. In studying for a computer engineering degree you will learn how to develop and establish networking systems, about the production of computer hardware and microchip technology, the design of smartphones and laptops, and much, much more. The opportunities available with this degree are endless.
This is only a small peek into the wonderfully complex world of engineering and its specified fields of study. Without engineers, we wouldn’t have the comforts of modern living that exist today. What type of engineering degree is best for you? No matter which you choose, you will be making the world a better place.