<p>Hey, everyone!
So, I'm currently a EE major. This is basically my last semester before I am 100% locked into that, as I will be applying to transfer out of CCC very soon, and must choose my concentration. I love the courses' material, but I have found that I seem to be interested in virtually everything that I study, from chemistry to math to physics to circuits. So, here's the question: What do you all see job prospects looking like for different types of engineers in the future? I have EE friends who graduated last year with decent grades, and are working construction jobs. This worries me. One of the reasons that I chose this major was that it seemed like a solid industry. How are the hire rates for college grads in different types of engineering, such as: ChemE, CivE, ME, CompE, CompSci, etc...? To all of you out there in industry, what kinds of trends do you see? Are there certain fields that you expect to shrink, and others that will soon be booming? Also, I don't know if it's just my school, but it seems like everyone is a CivE major! Is there something that they all know that I don't? I'd love your input! Thanks
-Wacker</p>
<p>You should be able to find a job with any engineering degree. Some are definitely better off than others, but you should be fine with EE. The field is not projected to experience booming growth but a lot of people are going to be retiring in the near future and even now jobs are not THAT hard to get.</p>
<p>As for your friends, they probably didn’t look very hard for a job if they actually majored in EE. Are you sure they actually received a real EE degree and not EET or some trade certificate?</p>
<p>Well, I have two friends who graduated with degrees in EE (real EE) and still don’t have engineering jobs. I know even more people with degrees in ME with no jobs. Granted, none of them are from well-known schools, and I also don’t think that either of the EE guys were stellar students. I know that one of my buddies who majored in ME had a decent GPA (3.2), but from what I understand, ME is a shrinking field. At least that’s what I’ve heard from two ME friends. Perhaps they are just disillusioned with their field.
And holy crap, dude! If you’re at Purdue, why the hell are you awake right now? Isn’t it like 3:30 there?</p>
<p>BLS may be of interest to you:
[url=<a href=“http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos027.htm#outlook]Engineers[/url”>http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos027.htm#outlook]Engineers[/url</a>]
[url=<a href=“http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos027.htm#emply]Engineers[/url”>http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos027.htm#emply]Engineers[/url</a>]</p>
<p>ME is not a shrinking field and whoever told you that is likely making excuses.</p>
<p>The only engineering field that is shrinking is ChemE. Long-term, all the rest should do well.</p>
<p>Why is ChemE a shrinking field?</p>
<p>look at the BLS handbook for long term…but seriously, i think short term prospects are more worrisome</p>
<p>Short term, almost everything is worrisome. Long term, most engineering fields are going to be fine. I don’t honestly know why ChemE is shrinking, but apparently the number of ChemE jobs has really not been growing at all over the past 10 years or so. I don’t have a source on hand, but I am sure Google can help with that.</p>
<p>Just a guess, maybe not enough funding and ideas for pushing new “innovations”? </p>
<p>Quite interesting though, BME raises like crazy, which is expected as of today.
[Engineering</a> Trends - 0207C - Significant Departures of Undergraduate and Graduate Degree Trends in Engineering Disciplines from the Trends of Engineering as a Whole](<a href=“http://www.engtrends.com/IEE/0207C.php]Engineering”>http://www.engtrends.com/IEE/0207C.php)</p>
<p>And may be quite unfortunate when it comes time for all these BMEs to find jobs.</p>
<p>Ken’s link to the BLS data seems quite bleak for EEs, or am I missing something? 2% growth in EE over the next decade, compared to 72% for BMEs and 24% for CivEs? Are a lot of those jobs going toward computer science fields, and the CompSci majors are taking them up or something? Am I misinterpreting it?</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos027.htm#outlook[/url]”>http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos027.htm#outlook</a></p>
<p>I’d imainge the same reason also goes to EE.
CE is probably true because the federal and states are in the process of renewing the infrastructures.
You mean CS are taking up EE’s job? Hell no… I don’t think CS guy can do EE’s job!</p>
<p>What that said is that we are in another “CS boom”…</p>
<p>BME… LOL that’s debatable… BME degree has just emerged… I’d imagine most of the jobs are done by traditional engineers…</p>
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<p>The only reason I offer that thought is that I know that it’s not too uncommon for EE people to go into programming. I suppose that’s not CS taking EE jobs, but rather the other way around. Lord knows I don’t want a job as a programmer, and I have nothing but respect for anyone with the patience to do that kind of work!</p>
<p>For the best info, as other have already stated, BLS is your friend. And unfortunately, EEs and ChemEs have dim prospects. Also I fully expect Mechanical Es to get hit hard since they usually work in factories and we all know where factory jobs are headed…</p>
<p>And finally, due to the virtual lack of construction right now, Civil Es also have dim prospects.</p>
<p>“I don’t honestly know why ChemE is shrinking,”</p>
<p>Because major chemical plants are now almost exclusively built overseas.</p>
<p>Interesting thought, Wacker.
I forgot which member here graduated with EE and now work as software engineer…</p>
<p>The numbers themselves, outside of any context, are completely irrelevant and meaningless. BME is growing by 72% and EE is remaining stagnant, it’s the end of the world for EE, right?</p>
<p>EE is an old field, which means there are a wide range of ages working in it. This includes many baby boomers who are retiring/going to be retiring soon. BME, on the other hand, is a relatively new field and even with a near doubling of the size of the field it’s still going to be small. There’s also not going to be a mass exodus of workers in the near future as the workforce tends to be younger and far away from retirement. So, even if EE is not going to grow at all, it will be effectively adding many jobs through retirements.</p>
<p>I am starting to get sick of hearing about how there will be tons and tons of job opportunities due to baby boomers retiring. Mnay boomers lost alot of money in their 401ks and are not going to be retiring as fast as people expect. Plus there is no guarantee that employers will decide to replace all of the boomers who retire. Many of those jobs might be offshored, discointinued, consolidated, etc.</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure everyone else is sick of hearing your constant doom and gloom. Any valid points you may have get lost in your overarching “the world is falling” message.</p>
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jwxie, I think you’re misreading something. He’s talking about the opposite… that CS majors can’t work as electrical engineers.</p>