<p>I can’t see how PetrE wouldn’t have one of the best job outlooks. At least for the next couple of decades. If you made a list of engineering majors with the least unemployment among graduates it would have to be near the top.</p>
<p>The move now is towards natural gas. Petroleum engineers are the most qualified for that kind of work aren’t they, since the two are related?</p>
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<p>How quickly we forget. It wasn’t that long ago - a little over a decade in fact - when oil had plunged to $10 a barrel, the industry seemingly couldn’t lay people off fast enough, and Houston and West Texas were basically relegated to a state of economic depression. </p>
<p>That highlights the volatile nature of the oil industry. Dizzying booms (like now) are followed by vertiginous crashes. Heck, even in late 2008 and early 2009, oil had plunged to somewhere in the $30’s.</p>
<p>Maybe electrical engineering is the more consistent winner? Whether fueled by oil, gas coal, solar, whatever…everything runs on electricity. I would think that the applications for electrical engineering are widespread, constant, and permanent. Wouldn’t that make for great job outlook?</p>
<p>If the Middle East becomes more dicey and difficult to deal with, maybe mechanical or petroleum might be the way to go. That is, if the administration realizes that drilling here is possibly a good alternative.</p>
<p>Don’t electrical engineers have a hard time finding work? That’s all I’ve been hearing for the past 2 years. Quite a few times, I’ve heard various people mentioning friends or people they know who can’t find a job with their electrical engineering degree. …But how would I know…</p>
<p>Many people are having difficulties finding a job. It’s not limited to a few fields.</p>
<p>Right…but EE’s in particular…</p>
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<p>The [UC</a> Berkeley career center](<a href=“https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/EECS.stm]UC”>https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/EECS.stm) indicates that EECS majors have a higher success rate at finding jobs than most other majors.</p>
<p>However, closer inspection reveals that most of the job titles indicate jobs on the CS side of EECS, with relatively few EE non-CS in comparison. The graduate students, on the other hand, appear to be more biased to the EE side.</p>
<p>Yup. In our computer/electronic engineering department, almost all of the grad students had electronic undergrads. half of them said they wish they did computer engineering 
software jobs will always be in high demand</p>
<p>bump this up</p>
<p>How much demand do you think Civil will have in say 4-5 years? (And why does it seem like everyone “hates” on it and thinks its the easiest engineering field)?</p>
<p>^Civil will go up and down over the years. We’re seeing construction trending upwards here, and our phone is ringing more. You have to be prepared for the cyclical nature of the industry, though. Nobody warned me of that when I was in college. I don’t think I would have changed my major, but it would have been nice to know about it upfront. The best advice is to start saving money from the beginning, so you’ll have something to fall back on if you lose your job at some point.</p>
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I don’t think even the experts can predict more than a year ahead of time. It depends a lot on the economy and politics. A good economy will spur growth in residential and commercial construction. Elected officials who understand the need to maintain and improve infrastructure in order to better society will also increase demand in this field. </p>
<p>I can see why some people don’t like the civil engineering field. For many people, it doesn’t have the “cool” factor, especially with the current generation who is growing with all these electronics. Some people will look up at a skyscraper and go “wow,” while others will just shrug their shoulders. The field excites some, but not others, just like any other field.</p>
<p>Chemical engineering is “Mechanical engineering on steroids”. Freaking tough and there’s less than 30,000 in the entire nation.</p>
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<p>Not really an accurate statement. Sure there is some overlap between ME and ChemE but in general they are quite different. In my opinion, (I’m a ME) mechanical engineers have to take a wider range of courses that cover not only fluids and thermal sciences but mechanics, controls, materials, and so on. If you don’t like chemistry then obviously ChemE will seem tougher. I also have to politely disagree with some previous comments on this thread that ChemE is the most versatile engineering degree. I think mechanical is arguably the most versitile because it covers a broad set of skills, moreso than any other engineering major. I’m not saying ME is the best or toughest, just that it is extremely broad and encompasses many subgroups of technical areas.</p>
<p>I’ve talked to some upperclassmen and a lot of them say that EECS majors have the easiest time finding jobs because they can work in any field. It makes sense, since everything uses electronics and computers these days. But this is mostly anecdotal.</p>
<p>^^^ As long as you dont mind doing software, there will ALWAYS be jobs</p>
<p>So what do you guys think about job prospect of ChemE? 
It is said that the number of ChemE jobs will go down in next several years, though that doesn’t mean you won’t be able to get a job at all.
Do you know any friends or relatives who studied it?</p>
<p>I have consistently seen Civil/Structural Engineers in demand no matter what the location. Wish I had done that instead of the crappy obsolete engineering degree I got. Hard to predict the future when you’re 19-23 years old and haven’t had any significant work experience.</p>