An engineer comes in many shapes, sizes, and specialities. However, they are generally responsible for using scientific fields in order to present solutions to issues which need solving or things which need building, from building construction to espresso machines. Dutifully analyzing and responding to problems, the engineer must always think about the safety and health of others and must plan around engineering principles, laws, and regulations, as well as company and industry standards.
How To Become an Engineer
To become an engineer, you usually need a bachelor's degree. The most common jobs before becoming an engineer are internship, project engineer, and engineering internship. Hiring managers expect an engineer to have soft skills such as creativity, listening skills, and math skills. Once you have all the required skills and experience, it takes an average of 1-3 months of job training to become an engineer.
The national average salary for engineers is $92,077, but with the right certifications and experience, they can make up to $130,000. Getting a certification as a Engineer In Training Certification (EIT) will help you to earn more as an engineer.
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 4% and produce 12,800 job opportunities across the U.S.
How to become an Engineer in 5 steps:
- Step 1: Explore engineer education
- Step 2: Develop engineer skills
- Step 3: Complete relevent training/internship
- Step 4: Research engineer duties
- Step 5: Prepare your resume
Key Steps To Become an Engineer
Explore Engineer Education
If you're interested in becoming an engineer, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 65.2% of engineers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 12.7% of engineers have master's degrees. Even though most engineers have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become an engineer. When we researched the most common majors for an engineer, we found that they most commonly have mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and civil engineering.
Engineer Major Percentages Mechanical Engineering 19.70% Electrical Engineering 19.40% Civil Engineering 8.40% Computer Science 7.90% Other Degrees 44.60% Develop Engineer Skills
It'll be a good idea to develop engineer skills before applying for a job. Here are some skills commonly requested in engineer job descriptions:
Complete Relevent Training/Internship
Engineers spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. During this time, new engineers learn the skills and techniques required for their specific job and employer. The chart below shows how much time it takes to gain competency as an engineer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real engineer resumes.
Average Amount Of Time At Training
Research Engineer Duties
When you decide to become an engineer, It's important to know what duties and responsibilities are required for this position. Some common responsibilities are a part of most engineer jobs. Here is a list of the main duties that define the role:
- Manage startup, trouble shooting and testing of PLC control equipment.
- Lead project team to design and FDA validate 10-up extreme accuracy vial dosing system and CIP/SIP automate cleaning equipment.
- Automate the creation of a WebLogic Admin and manage server deployment scheme within an installer for secure application deployment.
- Install and test PLC in client own equipment on site - solve some logical and hardware issues to accomplish goal
- Implement and manage continuous delivery systems and methodologies on AWS.
- Manage Terraform and refactore from monolithic to application specific components.
Prepare Your Resume
Finally, when you already have checked the skills and responsibilities for this role, you can start creating your resume. Everything that goes into creating a perfect resume can take hours, days, or even weeks. No worries, we created a resume builder to make this process as easy as possible with tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and a summary.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Engineer Resume templates
Build a professional Engineer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Engineer resume.Apply For an Engineer Job
Engineer Jobs
Average Salary for an Engineer
Engineers in America make an average salary of $92,077 per year or $44 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $130,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $65,000 per year.
Average Engineer Salary
$92,077Â Yearly$44.27 hourly
What Am I Worth?
Becoming an Engineer FAQs
How Hard Is It To Become A Nasa Engineer?
It is very difficult to become a NASA engineer. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is a large but selective organization whose workforce has decreased over the last 20 years.
What Degree Do You Need To Be An Engineer?
A bachelor of science degree in engineering is needed to be an engineer. You'll need at least a bachelor's degree, which takes roughly four years of study. However, a master's degree is recommended. In many cases, however, engineers work towards graduate degrees once they begin working in the industry.
What Is The Career Path For An Engineer?
The career path for an engineer involves jobs as a staff engineer, senior engineer, and principal engineer. These are the jobs included in the traditional engineering career path. However, for engineers working in other industries, such as tech, the career path is different and includes other roles.
Have more questions? See all answers to common architecture and engineering questions.