Materials Engineering

1

• Materials Engineering

Overview Preparation Day in the Life
Earnings Employment Career Path Forecast
Resources
Developed by the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.
2
Materials Engineering

• Overview
• Materials Science and Engineering is a field of
  engineering that encompasses the spectrum of
  materials types and how to use them in
  manufacturing. Materials span the range metals,
  ceramics, polymers (plastics), semiconductors,
  and combinations of materials called composites.
• Everything we see and use is made of materials
  cars, airplanes, computers, refrigerators, TVs,
  dishes, silverware, athletic equipment of all
  types, DVDs, and biomedical devices such as
  replacement joints and limbs.

Overview Preparation Day in the Life
Earnings Employment Career Path Forecast
Resources
Developed by the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.
3
Materials Engineering

• Overview (continued)
• New materials technologies developed through
  engineering and science will continue to make
  startling changes in our lives in the future, and
  materials engineers will continue to be key in
  these changes and advances.
• Materials Engineers deal with the science and
  technology of producing materials that have
  properties and shapes suitable for practical use.
  Activities range from primary materials
  production, including recycling, and the design,
  development, and manufacturing of new materials.

Overview Preparation Day in the Life
Earnings Employment Career Path Forecast
Resources
Developed by the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.
4
Materials Engineering

• Preparation
• A bachelor's degree in engineering is required
  for almost all entry-level engineering jobs.
• Most major universities have academic BS degree
  granting programs in one of the specialty areas
  of Materials Science and Engineering. The
  majority of undergraduate programs provide a
  survey across the spectrum of materials. Other
  programs focus in one particular class of
  materials like Ceramics, Metallurgy, or Polymers.

Overview Preparation Day in the Life
Earnings Employment Career Path Forecast
Resources
Developed by the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.
5
Materials Engineering

• Preparation (continued)
• Admissions requirements for engineering schools
  include a background in mathematics (algebra,
  geometry, trigonometry, calculus) and science
  (biology, chemistry, physics), and courses in
  English, social studies, humanities, and computer
  and information technology.
• Focus on becoming as well-rounded as possible by
  taking a variety of humanities courses, and
  include business and communication courses
  whenever possible.

Overview Preparation Day in the Life
Earnings Employment Career Path Forecast
Resources
Developed by the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.
6
Materials Engineering

• Preparation (continued)
• Those interested in a career in Materials
  Engineering should consider reviewing engineering
  programs that are accredited by the Accreditation
  Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc.
  Accreditation is based on an evaluation of an
  engineering program's student achievement,
  program improvement, faculty, curricular content,
  facilities, and institutional commitment.
• A list of universities offering accredited
  degrees in Materials Engineering is available at
  the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.

Overview Preparation Day in the Life
Earnings Employment Career Path Forecast
Resources
Developed by the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.
7
Materials Engineering

• Day in the Life
• Materials engineers bring advances in the auto,
  aerospace, construction, manufacturing,
  electronics, computer, and communications
  industries by developing new or improved metals,
  plastics, ceramics, semiconductors and
  composites.
• They work to increase the strength of steel,
  toughen ceramics, lower the cost of composites
  and make faster computer circuits.

Overview Preparation Day in the Life
Earnings Employment Career Path Forecast
Resources
Developed by the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.
8
Materials Engineering

• Day in the Life (continued)
• Teams and Coworkers
• In a manufacturing operation most tasks are
  conducted by cross-functional teams of people.
  Materials engineers are generally part of a
  support group integral to these teams for various
  functions -- from design concept through
  manufacturing processes to final product
  evaluations.

Overview Preparation Day in the Life
Earnings Employment Career Path Forecast
Resources
Developed by the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.
9
Materials Engineering

• Day in the Life (continued)
• Tasks
• Therefore the work done under the heading of
  Materials Science Engineering has an
  unprecedented impact on our quality of life.
• Although the field deals with materials, it
  encompasses an incredible diversity of topics and
  problems constituting the four elements of the
  field -- processing, structure, properties, and
  performance.

Overview Preparation Day in the Life
Earnings Employment Career Path Forecast
Resources
Developed by the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.
10
Materials Engineering

• Day in the Life (continued)
• Industry Sectors
• There are four general sectors of industry that
  employ materials engineers
• Primary Materials Producing
• Manufacturing
• Service
• Other (such as education, government, law firms,
  healthcare, finance, insurance, and
  wholesale/retail are some of the other employers
  of materials engineers)

Overview Preparation Day in the Life
Earnings Employment Career Path Forecast
Resources
Developed by the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.
11
Materials Engineering

• Earnings
• Entry-level salaries vary based on your areas of
  expertise, experience, education, supervisory
  responsibility, accountability for projects, and
  the geographic location, size, and industry of
  the employer.
• According the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of
  Labor Statistics, the median income for materials
  engineers is 73,990. In terms of starting
  salaries, the average starting salary for
  materials engineers who have earned a Bachelor's
  degree is 56,233.

Overview Preparation Day in the Life
Earnings Employment Career Path Forecast
Resources
Developed by the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.
12
Materials Engineering

• Employment
• According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics,
  materials engineers hold about 21,000 jobs in the
  U.S. This represents 1.5 of the 1.4 million jobs
  held by engineers nationwide.
• Materials engineers work with metals, ceramics,
  plastics, semiconductors, and composites to
  create new materials that meet certain
  mechanical, electrical, and chemical
  requirements.

Overview Preparation Day in the Life
Earnings Employment Career Path Forecast
Resources
Developed by the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.
13
Materials Engineering

• Employment (continued)
• They also are involved in selecting materials for
  new applications. Materials engineers have
  developed the ability to create and then study
  materials at an atomic level, using advanced
  processes to replicate the characteristics of
  materials and their components with computers.
• A sample list of employers of Manufacturing
  Engineers is available at the Sloan Career
  Cornerstone Center.

Overview Preparation Day in the Life
Earnings Employment Career Path Forecast
Resources
Developed by the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.
14
Materials Engineering

• Career Path Forecast
• According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau
  of Labor Statistics, materials engineers are
  expected to have employment growth of 4 percent
  over the projections decade of 2006 - 2016. 
• This is slower than the average for all
  occupations.

Overview Preparation Day in the Life
Earnings Employment Career Path Forecast
Resources
Developed by the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.
15
Materials Engineering

• Career Path Forecast (continued)
• Although employment is expected to decline in
  many of the manufacturing industries in which
  materials engineers are concentrated, growth
  should be strong for materials engineers working
  on nanomaterials and biomaterials.
• As manufacturing firms contract for their
  materials engineering needs, employment growth is
  expected in professional, scientific, and
  technical services industries also.

Overview Preparation Day in the Life
Earnings Employment Career Path Forecast
Resources
Developed by the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.
16
Materials Engineering

• Resources
• More information about Materials Engineering is
  available at the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center,
  including employer lists, accredited Materials
  Engineering programs, suggestions for precollege
  students, profiles of Materials Engineers, a free
  monthly careers newsletter, and a PDF that
  summarizes the field.
• Associations
• ASM International
• American Ceramic Society
• Materials Research Society
• The Minerals, Metals Materials Society

Overview Preparation Day in the Life
Earnings Employment Career Path Forecast
Resources
Developed by the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.