What are the Different Types of Engineering Degrees?

[0:00]Engineering is a diverse profession that branches out into every industry that makes our world go round. For a high school student wanting to get into engineering or just someone interested in what the differences between each path are. The choices can be daunting and the differences can overlap quite a bit. For students, while there's certainly the ability to change your mind later and picking your degree, picking the right one from the get go is always better. So, to help students figure out which degree path they want to pick in engineering or help anyone else understand what the differences in engineers are. Let's take a look at the various choices you have for being an engineer. First, we'll start off with the most popular mechanical engineering. It's by far the most popular of all the engineering disciplines and this is mostly because the degree is so broad. With a mechanical engineering degree, you could end up working in any field from aerospace to air conditioning design. Mechanical engineering focuses on the design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. Mechanical engineers are constantly tasked with improving the function of machines or running analyses on complex components. While your options with a degree in mechanical engineering can be diverse, you can also choose aerospace engineering, robotics engineering or industrial engineering. Depending upon the specialty that you know you want to work in. However, if you haven't made it that far in your life planning yet, a degree in mechanical engineering will set you down the right path. As for some of the key components of the degree, you'll work with stress analysis, thermodynamics, fluid dynamics and mechanical design. And you can expect a median income in this field of about $87,000 US dollars. Next up, we have civil engineering. This is the degree I have myself, so I might be a little partial, but civil engineering is the oldest form of engineering with a close second being mechanical. Civil engineers deal with urban planning, pipe networks, water treatment, structural design and any combination therein. Civil engineering has a close relation with the construction industry and often will involve a lot of hands-on work in the civil engineering career that you choose. As a civil engineer, you have the option of working with chemicals in water treatment or designing the next world famous bridge. If civil engineering is too broad for you, you can specialize in something like geotechnical, petroleum and even environmental engineering. The key components of this degree will be like mechanics of materials, statics, hydraulics, and geotechnical. The median income here coming in slightly less than mechanical engineering at $82,000. Next up, we have double E's, or electrical engineers. Commonly referred to as double E's, like I mentioned, electrical engineers work with electronics, circuits and computers. If you decide to choose electrical engineering as a degree path, you need to be prepared for working primarily with electronics and the technology within that industry. Given current advances in technology, electrical engineering is fast-paced and is constantly innovating. If you want to lean further from electrical and more into the computer space, you can always choose a more specialized degree like computer science, which will focus on the programming or computer engineering, which will focus on the actual components. The key components of this degree will be circuits, electronics, and computers. The median income being slightly less than the other degrees at 71,000, but I will say if you excel in this field, the high side of the salary potential is a lot higher than some other engineering types. Now, we have biomedical engineering. Biomedical engineering is perhaps the most specialized discipline on this list, but it doesn't quite fit into any other category. To work in the biomedical field, a strong interest in anatomy and physiology is needed as well as various forms of engineering. You'll be working closely with mechanical and electrical concepts within your degree path of biomedical engineering. Doctors and surgeons help heal patients using devices designed by biomedical engineers, like hip replacements and prosthetic limbs. The key components of this will be biological devices, electronics, and mechanical connections. The median income here being one of the higher ones at $87,000 US dollars. Finally, we have the last general engineering degree of chemical engineering. Chemical engineering has seen significant growth in recent years due to the increase in chemically engineered products implemented in daily life. Chemical engineering doesn't require that much explanation, but you'll likely be working inside of a lab designing new chemicals or synthesizing compounds. You have the opportunity to develop new life-saving drugs or re-engineer common foods. Everything in the world is made up of some form of chemical, compounds, or element, and chemical engineers can work with any of it. Some of the key components here will be chemistry, lab work, mathematics, and life sciences, and this has the highest potential income of any of these general engineering degrees at $97,000 US dollars as a median income. When making your final decision on what degree to choose, consider what your interests are and where you see yourself working for the rest of your life. With any degree and engineering, you have the options to work in virtually any industry, so you won't be held back. Take me for example, I got a civil engineering degree, but I now work in technical marketing and engineering marketing, and I do things like create content for this YouTube channel and other media publishers across the world. Having a technical engineering education is a huge benefit even if you don't plan on staying in that sector for the rest of your life.