General Mechanical Engineering

Types of Degrees General Mechanical Engineering Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many general mechanical engineering graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	7,402
Doctor’s Degree	1,842
Graduate Certificate	141

What General Mechanical Engineering Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, general mechanical engineering majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for General Mechanical Engineering Majors

General Mechanical Engineering majors often go into careers in which the following 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.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub- atomic structures and processes.

Skills for General Mechanical Engineering Majors

When studying general mechanical engineering, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• 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.
• Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
• Mathematics - Using mathematics to solve problems.

Abilities for General Mechanical Engineering Majors

As a general mechanical engineering major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:

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

What Can You Do With a General Mechanical Engineering Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with general mechanical engineering:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Aerospace Engineers	6.0%	$115,220
Architectural and Engineering Managers	5.5%	$140,760
Automotive Engineers	8.8%	$87,370
Cost Estimators	10.5%	$64,040
Engineering Professors	14.7%	$101,720
Fuel Cell Engineers	8.8%	$87,370
Mechanical Engineers	8.8%	$87,370

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

This major tends to be male dominated. About 81% of recent graduates are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	696
Black or African American	165
Hispanic or Latino	626
White	2,902
International Students	2,638
Other Races/Ethnicities	375

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in General Mechanical Engineering, too. About 35.6% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to General Mechanical Engineering

Some careers associated with general mechanical engineering require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to general mechanical engineering have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	0.5%
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)	1.1%
Some College Courses	1.0%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	3.3%
Bachelor’s Degree	61.0%
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.	3.1%
Master’s Degree	18.8%
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.	1.5%
Doctoral Degree	8.2%
Post-Doctoral Training	2.0%

Online General Mechanical Engineering Programs

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)	1	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	42	1
Bachelor’s Degree	31	6
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	237	18
Post-Master’s	9	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	155	1
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	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 Michel Villeneuve under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.