General Engineering

Types of Degrees General Engineering Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many general engineering graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	2,969
Doctor’s Degree	477
Graduate Certificate	102

What General Engineering Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to engineering and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Engineering Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

• Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

Skills for Engineering Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to engineering:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Abilities for Engineering Majors

A major in engineering will prepare for your careers in which the following abilities are important:

• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

What Can You Do With a General Engineering Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with engineering:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Architectural and Engineering Managers	5.5%	$140,760
Energy Engineers	6.4%	$96,980
Engineering Professors	14.7%	$101,720

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in General Engineering?

This major attracts more men than women. About 75% of the graduates in this field are male.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of engineering majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	251
Black or African American	178
Hispanic or Latino	146
White	1,110
International Students	1,117
Other Races/Ethnicities	167

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Engineering, too. About 37.6% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• China
• India
• Saudi Arabia
• South Korea
• Iran

How Much Do General Engineering Majors Make?

Master’s Degree Starting Salary

According to 2019-2020 data from the U.S. Department of Education, students who graduated with a master’s degree in engineering have a median salary of $89,427 during the early years of their career. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $79,262 (25th percentile) and $93,532 (75th percentile).

Note that some of these people may have jobs that are not directly related to a engineering degree.

Salaries According to BLS

Average salaries range from $99,410 to $148,970 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to engineering. This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to General Engineering

Some degrees associated with engineering may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

Find out what the typical degree level is for engineering careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	2.5%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	2.1%
Bachelor’s Degree	43.9%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	8.7%
Master’s Degree	21.6%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	3.5%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	1.3%
Doctoral Degree	13.0%
Post-Doctoral Training	3.5%

Online General Engineering Programs

In 2020-2021, 745 schools offered a engineering program of some type. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	35	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	7	0
Associate’s Degree	414	10
Bachelor’s Degree	25	4
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	121	22
Post-Master’s	5	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	51	3
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	2	1
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in General Engineering Worth It?

The median salary for a engineering grad is $113,680 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 185% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $1,475,600 after 20 years!

Majors Related to General Engineering

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to engineering.

Major	Number of Grads
Electrical Engineering	11,021
Mechanical Engineering	9,007
Civil Engineering	6,042
Computer Engineering	5,557
Biomedical Engineering	4,252
Systems Engineering	3,068
Industrial Engineering	3,028
Chemical Engineering	2,662
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering	2,375
Other Engineering	1,820
Materials Engineering	1,810
Operations Research	1,191
Electrical and Computer Engineering.	928
Environmental Engineering	919
Robotics Engineering	560
Engineering Science	451
Nuclear Engineering	437
Manufacturing Engineering	423
Petroleum Engineering	401
Agricultural Engineering	332
Construction Engineering	288
Engineering Physics	286
Architectural Engineering	243
Geoscience Engineering	173
Polymer & Plastics Engineering	167
Engineering Mechanics	144
Mining Engineering	132
Ocean Engineering	112
Textile Engineering	96
Biological Engineering	80
Energy Systems Engineering	79
Marine Engineering	44
Metallurgical Engineering	40
Biochemical Engineering	21
Ceramic Engineering	20
Electromechanical Engineering	16
Surveying Engineering	11
Paper Science & Engineering	7
Forest Engineering	0

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Rémi Kaupp under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.