Engineering Training Schools
Go into one of the world's most varied and worthwhile professions.
Engineering training schools help inventive people learn how to contribute to making our lives better through the creation of practical solutions to common problems. They can strengthen your ability to assist in the development of important technological breakthroughs. And their well-crafted programs can put you in a position to build your own respected, good-paying, and enjoyably challenging career.
That's really what engineering schools are all about: giving creative thinkers and problem solvers like you the opportunity to excel and make an impact. After all, we live in a time of rapid change, which is creating no shortage of issues to be solved through the real-world application of math and science. So America needs more engineers and engineering technicians who can offer new ideas and fresh enthusiasm.
The only question is, what path will you choose? Many of the nation's top engineering schools maintain a large variety of programs in different branches of this expansive field. The possibilities are fun to explore. Just look at some of the featured options below. Or discover the training opportunities in your area by typing in your zip code.
4 Major Areas of Engineering That Offer a Variety of Career Paths
Engineering Schools
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Keiser University
- Fort Lauderdale, Florida
- Jacksonville, Florida
- Melbourne, Florida
- Pembroke Pines, Florida
- Port St. Lucie, Florida
- Sarasota, Florida
- Tampa, Florida
- Applied Engineering
- Cloud Engineering
- Software Engineering
ECPI University
- Charlotte
- Greensboro
- Raleigh
- Charleston
- Greenville
- San Antonio
- Manassas (Northern VA)
- Newport News
- Richmond
- Virginia Beach
- Online
- Electronic Systems Engineering Technology
- Electronic Systems Mechatronics
- Electronics Engineering Technology
- Mechanical Engineering Technology
- Mechatronics
4 Major Areas of Engineering That Offer a Variety of Career Paths
For anybody who aspires to make a lasting and practical difference in the world, engineering provides many truly appealing directions to go in. In fact, there are potentially hundreds of different ways to specialize within the field. That's because each major branch of engineering holds many subdisciplines. And a lot of engineers and other engineering professionals have skill sets drawn from a combination of different specialties.
The engineering profession has a long history of designing, developing, analyzing, and building solutions that improve people's quality of life. Engineers' contributions are staggering and almost too numerous to list: everything from safe drinking water to modern transportation to the distribution of electricity to refrigeration to the Internet to smartphones to space exploration. The achievements simply go on and on.
And so do the career possibilities. Even at the most basic level, you have the option of becoming either a fully-fledged professional engineer or an engineering technician who plays an important assisting role.
In general, becoming a professional engineer requires a specialized bachelor's degree, followed by four years as an engineering intern and the successful completion of a state licensing exam. So you definitely need to learn some good college hacks for that level of study. In contrast, engineering technicians usually only need about two years of post-secondary education—and sometimes even less.
Here is how the four main branches of engineering break down:
1. Electrical and Electronics Engineering
In this area of the field, the focus is on the design, development, and testing of devices and systems that use electricity. That can, of course, include a huge range of items. Computers, TVs, telecommunications equipment, machines for power generation, GPS navigation devices, medical monitoring tools, and broadcasting equipment are merely a few prominent examples.
As new technologies emerge, engineers and technicians in this category are often at the forefront of applying them to help solve interesting problems. Plus, they tend to make very good money. For example, in 2021, the median and top-end salaries in the U.S. were:*
- Electrical engineers: $100,420 / $162,930 or more
- Electronics engineers: $104,820 / $166,890 or more
- Computer hardware engineers: $128,170 / $208,000 or more
- Electrical and electronics engineering technicians: $63,640 / $99,210 or more
2. Mechanical Engineering
Many engineers consider this to be the largest branch of the profession. Its emphasis is on applying the principles of thermal energy, as well as structural and motion mechanics, to create and test different kinds of tools, devices, and machines. Examples include gas turbines, cooling systems, car and airplane engines, renewable energy systems, boat motors, and biomedical systems.
And some engineers and technicians have both mechanical and electrical engineering skills. That gives them the versatility to work in the field of mechatronics, which concerns the development and operation of automated systems like robotics and unmanned aerial or submersible machines.
In 2021, the median and top-end annual earnings for U.S. professionals in this area were:*
- Mechanical engineers: $95,300 / $136,210 or more
- Mechanical engineering technicians: $60,460 / $95,300 or more
- Electro-mechanical technicians: $60,360 / $98,070 or more
3. Civil Engineering
Large building and infrastructure projects are the primary focus for engineers in this area. The diversity of structures and systems that they can help design, construct, or maintain is astonishing. For example, just imagine a few of the things we wouldn't have without their talents: roads, bridges, tunnels, airports, dams, water and sewage treatment plants, skyscrapers, mining facilities, and industrial manufacturing centers.
That's why civil engineers are in big demand. Throughout America, many of the structures listed above are deteriorating because of age. They need to be replaced, or at least receive major upgrades. As a result, according to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, the employment of U.S. civil engineers is expected to rise by seven percent from 2021 to 2031.*
The median salary for an American civil engineer was $88,050 in 2021, but the highest earners enjoyed salaries of over $133,320.* For civil engineering technicians, the median annual pay was $58,320, with some making more than $79,650.
4. Chemical Engineering
Don't let the title of this category fool you. Chemical engineers are involved in designing and producing a lot more than you might think. This branch of engineering is incredibly broad. It's all about applying the principles of physics, biology, and chemistry to problems that can be solved through the creation of new substances, materials, or biosystems. Positive impacts are often achieved in areas like paper and textile manufacturing, plastics, petroleum, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and environmental and natural resource preservation.
Median yearly pay for U.S. chemical engineers was $105,550 in 2021, and top-end earners made over $187,430.* For chemical technicians, the median salary was $48,990, and the highest pay was over $80,570.
* Unless otherwise noted, salary information is based on May 2021 data from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program. Job growth and average yearly openings estimates are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and are for the 2021 to 2031 period.