General Information and Strategies

• Bachelor's degree provides wide range of career opportunities in industry, business, and government.
• Graduate degrees offer more opportunities for career advancement.
• Bachelor's degree is good background for pursuing technical graduate degrees as well as professional degrees in Business Administration, Medicine or Law.
• Related work experience obtained through co-op, internships, part-time or summer jobs, or regular employment is extremely beneficial.
• Develop computer expertise within field.
• Engineers need to think in scientific and mathematical terms, have ability to study data, sort out important facts, solve problems, and be logical thinkers. Creativity is useful.
• Other helpful traits include intellectual curiosity, technical aptitude, perseverance, ability to communicate and work well with others, a commitment to teamwork, and a basic understanding of the economic and environmental context in which engineering is practiced.
• Develop excellent verbal and written communications skills including presentation and technical report writing.
• All states and the District of Columbia require registration of engineers whose work may affect the life, health, or safety of the public.
• Professional or technical societies confer certification in some areas.
• Join related professional organizations.
• Most fields offer overseas opportunities with businesses or government agencies.
• Because of rapid changes in most engineering fields, both continued education and keeping abreast of new developments are very important.
• Most states require an EIT (Engineer-In-Training) test before taking a state examination to become a Professional Engineer (PE).
• Search the Internet for additional information about individual disciplines.