Engineering pays p1 - Military - Career Choices - Military Times EDGE

It pays to be an engineer — literally. The National Association of Colleges and Employers released its summer 2009 Salary Survey in July, and along with computer science, engineering degrees made up four of the top five bachelor’s degrees with highest starting salaries.

“Typically, engineering degrees are the highest-paid due to the number of engineers in the field still declining,” said NACE’s Andrea Koncz. It’s a classic case of more demand than supply. Here’s what it takes to earn those high-paying degrees — and where each one will take you.

Petroleum engineering

• What you’ll learn: At Texas A&M, along with many other top universities specializing in petroleum engineering, required courses include mathematics, core engineering classes, geology and physics, along with high-level specialized courses such as drilling, geostatistics and reservoir models.

• Where you’ll work: “Generally, petroleum engineer grads work wherever the petroleum industry has a presence,” said Margaret Watson, spokeswoman for the Society of Petroleum Engineers. That means Houston, Louisiana, Colorado, Wyoming, parts of southern California and even the Northeast. There are also opportunities for work outside the U.S., and there is lots of room for personal choice between working in an office or in the field.

• Your prospects: The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects petroleum engineering jobs to increase by 5.2 percent from 2006 to 2016, according to the latest data.

• Starting pay: $83,121

Chemical engineering

• What you’ll learn: As you’d expect, chemical engineering students take plenty of chemistry classes in addition to math and core engineering courses. The University of Michigan’s program also calls for electives in life sciences and social sciences, and offers the chance to conduct research in faculty labs for pay, credit or as a volunteer.

• Where you’ll work: While chemical engineers can be found almost anywhere, concentrations include the Gulf Coast region for its petroleum; the Great Lakes region for its automotive and food industries; Pennsylvania for its longstanding ties with the DuPont Co.; and the East Coast, from Washington, D.C., to Boston, for its concentration of pharmaceutical companies, said Tim McCreight, spokesman for the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

• Your prospects: Chemical engineering jobs are expected to grow by 7.9 percent.

• Starting pay: $64,902

Mining engineering

• What you’ll learn: Requirements include geology, physics, general chemistry, core engineering, mathematics and specialized mining. Colorado School of Mines students often complete internships their junior year. Classes are even taught at the local Edgar Mine, where students gain hands-on experience in drilling, blasting and mucking (loading blasted rock).

• Where you’ll work: “If you like to see the world, this is a good profession to be in,” said Steve Kral, publications editor at the Society of Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration. “There are jobs in the U.S., but many of them are going overseas,” Kral said. He cites the lack of students and an aging work force as the major reasons why starting salaries are so high.

• Your prospects: A 10 percent increase in jobs by 2016 means lots of opportunity.

• Starting pay: $64,404

Computer engineering

• What you’ll learn: At many top schools, including Carnegie Mellon University, computer engineering grew out of the electrical engineering department. Course requirements include math, statistics and a bit of physics. Specific courses vary by specialty but range from biomedical imaging to circuits for wireless systems, semiconductor devices, data storage systems and electroacoustics.

• Where you’ll work: Computer hardware proficiency is highly sought-after in the information age, and grads can find abundant work at startups, tech companies and semiconductor companies, or as IT administrators at most any office or company, according to the IEEE Computer Society.

• Your prospects: While hardware engineers can expect a 4.6 percent increase in jobs, there’s a whopping 44.6 percent increase expected in the field of software engineering.

• Starting pay: $61,738