8 Answers
- az_lenderLv 71 year agoFavorite Answer
If you mean for employability, you can look at three statistics:
(1) how many engineers are now in the field (this makes it possible to project the number of likely retirements),
can get this from Bureau of Labor Statistics.
(2) how many new positions the US Bureau of Labor Statistics projects for the coming decade.
(3) how many BS degrees were granted in the specific engineering field in the most recent academic year. Can get this from "Engineering by the Numbers" report that comes from Amer. Assn. for Engineering Education.
Based on these three metrics, one can conclude:
(a) Civil, Software, and Environmental Engineering are very safe majors. Everyone who chooses one of these field can have a job in his field. (Environmental could be boring, though -- waste management, etc. -- it's not Saving the Whales.)
(b) Mechanical and Electrical are decent, but SOME grads will have to work outside their field.
(c) Biomedical, Chemical, and Aeronautical are awful -- except that an Aeronautical Engineer can probably get some other Mech. Eng. job.
The picture for Petroleum Engineering kind of bounces around with oil prices, and Nuclear depends a lot on government policies.
- PhilomelLv 71 year ago
Go to a library and take a Vocational Aptitude Test. It will tell you your strongest fields for a career. This is where your interests lie and where you will be happiest working. It is where you will make the most contribution to yourself and society. It may surprise you. You don't have to follow it but it is important to know it. Many fields overlap. Mine is Mechanics but got my Degree in Electronic Engineering and worked in Electro-Mechanical Engineering. I loved it for 31 years.
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- thomas fLv 71 year ago
I tend to favor space travel engineering. For instance, traveling at large fractions of the speed of light does not break any Physics laws. So the rest is "just engineering".
- Dr. DLv 71 year ago
There is no one best type of engineering. If you are interested in a career in engineering, then first consider following your personal interests.