Employment Outlook
The need for engineers is expected to increase through 2012. Right now in Utah, even with all the qualified Engineering graduates, there are still 1000 additional engineers needed every year! Engineers generally earn more money than other college graduates with four year degrees, and society will always need engineers who solve problems and come up with new ways of thinking about and doing things.
In terms of the range of employment opportunities, ME students are involved in diverse projects. For instance, Mechanical Engineers design advanced materials and structures to meet the demands of supersonic and hypersonic flight and space travel. Others are involved in efforts to clean up and preserve the earth's environment.
Employment opportunities have attracted mechanical engineers to projects involving alternative energy sources, the improvement of engineering designs and the related manufacturing processes to be more energy efficient, avoiding the creation of pollutants, environmental monitoring and remediation projects. MEs work in the energy field on both new methods for energy generation (such as solar, fuel cell and wind generated power), and also on the design of traditional electrical power plants equipped with reactors, pressure piping, heat exchangers and other specialized components. In the automobile industry, Mechanical Engineers design the various parts of cars. In manufacturing companies of all kinds, they develop the systems that improve and speed up production processes.
Mechanical Engineers also work alongside physicians, therapists, and other medical professionals to investigate the workings of the human body and to design aids and instruments for medical applications. Other Mechanical Engineers work with trainers, coaches, and athletes on the design of sporting equipment. Mechanical Engineers involved in government research assist on key policy decisions regarding technology development and use. For example, engineers working with the US. Department of Energy, Department of Transportation and other agencies conduct important research in solar energy, advanced materials, radioactive waste removal, magnetic-levitation trains and space missions to the planet Mars. These are exciting research projects that will have a direct impact on American business and lives of American people in the years ahead.