Employment
 Engineers hold 1.5
million jobs in the United States. About 37 percent of engineering jobs
were found in manufacturing industries and another 28 percent were in
the professional, scientific, and technical services sector, primarily
in architectural, engineering, and related services. Many engineers also
worked in the construction, telecommunications, and wholesale trade
industries.
Federal, State, and local governments employ about 12 percent of
engineers. About half of these were in the Federal Government, mainly in
the U.S. Departments of Defense, Transportation, Agriculture, Interior,
and Energy, and in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Most engineers in State and local government agencies worked in highway
and public works departments. About 3 percent of engineers are
self-employed, many as consultants.
The distribution of
employment by engineering specialty follows:
|
Civil
engineers |
256,000 |
|
Mechanical
engineers |
227,000 |
|
Industrial
engineers |
201,000 |
|
Electrical
engineers |
153,000 |
|
Electronics
engineers, except computer |
138,000 |
|
Aerospace
engineers |
90,000 |
|
Computer
hardware engineers |
79,000 |
|
Environmental
engineers |
54,000 |
|
Chemical
engineers |
30,000 |
|
Health and
safety engineers, except mining safety engineers and
inspectors |
25,000 |
|
Materials
engineers |
22,000 |
|
Petroleum
engineers |
17,000 |
|
Nuclear
engineers |
15,000 |
|
Biomedical
engineers |
14,000 |
|
Marine
engineers and naval architects |
9,200 |
|
Mining and
geological engineers, including mining safety engineers |
7,100 |
|
Agricultural
engineers |
3,100 |
|
All other
engineers |
170,000 |
Engineers are
employed in every state, in small and large cities and in rural
areas. Some branches of engineering are concentrated in particular
industries and geographic area -- for example, petroleum engineering
jobs tend to be located in areas with sizable petroleum deposits,
such as Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Alaska, and California. Others,
such as civil engineering, are widely dispersed, and engineers in
these fields often move from place to place to work on different
projects.
 Engineers are employed in every major industry. The industries
employing the most engineers in each specialty are given in
the table below, along with the percent of occupational employment
in the industry. Be sure to check within the
Sloan
Career Cornerstone Center's profiles of engineering
disciplines for detailed list of employers, and more specific salary
information.
|
Specialty |
Industry |
Percent |
|
Aerospace
engineers |
Aerospace
product and parts manufacturing |
49 |
|
Agricultural
engineers |
Food
manufacturing |
25 |
| |
Architectural, engineering, and related services |
15 |
|
Biomedical
engineers |
Medical
equipment and supplies manufacturing |
20 |
| |
Scientific
research and development services |
20 |
|
Chemical
engineers |
Chemical
manufacturing |
29 |
| |
Architectural, engineering, and related services |
15 |
|
Civil
engineers |
Architectural, engineering, and related services |
49 |
|
Computer
hardware engineers |
Computer and
electronic product manufacturing |
41 |
| |
Computer
systems design and related services |
19 |
|
Electrical
engineers |
Architectural, engineering, and related services |
21 |
|
Electronics
engineers, except computer |
Computer and
electronic product manufacturing |
26 |
| |
Telecommunications |
15 |
|
Environmental
engineers |
Architectural, engineering, and related services |
29 |
| |
State and
local government |
21 |
|
Health and
safety engineers, except mining safety engineers and
inspectors |
State and
local government |
10 |
|
Industrial
engineers |
Transportation equipment manufacturing |
18 |
| |
Machinery
manufacturing |
8 |
|
Marine
engineers and naval architects |
Architectural, engineering, and related services |
29 |
|
Materials
engineers |
Primary metal
manufacturing |
11 |
| |
Semiconductor
and other electronic component manufacturing |
9 |
|
Mechanical
engineers |
Architectural, engineering, and related services |
22 |
| |
Transportation equipment manufacturing |
14 |
|
Mining and
geological engineers, including mining safety engineers |
Mining |
58 |
|
Nuclear
engineers |
Research and
development in the physical, engineering, and life sciences |
30 |
| |
Electric
power generation, transmission and distribution |
27 |
|
Petroleum
engineers |
Oil and gas
extraction |
43 |
Note: Some resources in this section are provided by the US Department
of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
|
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