Plant engineers oversee a manufacturing plant's electrical and mechanical needs. They ensure that the plant is operating smoothly by planning and coordinating activities concerned with the design and construction of equipment and machinery in an industrial plant. They earn a median salary of $85,000 annually or $41 per hour.
Plant engineers can work in various organizations, and as such, their duties may vary. However, they are typically tasked with monitoring and maintaining plant equipment and machinery as well as reviewing project plans to ensure that timelines and blueprints are accurate. Due to the nature of the job, their analytical, math, and mechanical skills are exceptional.
Plant engineers mostly hold a bachelor's degree in mechanical, electrical, or industrial engineering. Although, larger organizations may require a higher academic degree. On-the-job experience in a similar field is preferred by some employers. Also, it will be best to get some licenses and certifications, although these vary by state.
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a plant engineer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $42.43 an hour? That's $88,252 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 1% and produce 1,200 job opportunities across the U.S.
There are certain skills that many plant engineers have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed leadership skills, time-management skills and interpersonal skills.
If you're interested in becoming a plant engineer, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 74.2% of plant engineers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 10.0% of plant engineers have master's degrees. Even though most plant 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 a plant engineer. When we researched the most common majors for a plant engineer, we found that they most commonly earn bachelor's degree degrees or associate degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on plant engineer resumes include master's degree degrees or diploma degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a plant engineer. In fact, many plant engineer jobs require experience in a role such as project engineer. Meanwhile, many plant engineers also have previous career experience in roles such as process engineer or maintenance supervisor.