Materials Engineering

Career Overview

Materials engineers develop, process, and test materials used to create a wide range of products.

Education

Materials engineers must have a bachelor’s degree in materials science and engineering or in a related engineering field. Completing internships and cooperative engineering programs while in school can be helpful in getting hired as a materials engineer.

Future Outlook

Employment of materials engineers is projected to grow 2 percent from 2019 to 2029, slower than the average for all occupations. About half of all materials engineers work in manufacturing industries, including many that are expected to have slow growth or declines in employment.

Work Environment

Materials engineers generally work in offices where they have access to computers and design equipment. Others work in factories or research and development laboratories. Materials engineers typically work full time and may work overtime hours when necessary.

Recommended High School Courses

Chemistry
Math
Computer Programming
Algebra
Physics
English
Calculus & Vectors
Calculus 1
Calculus 2

Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
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.
Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Management of Personnel Resources - Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
Mathematics - Using mathematics to solve problems.
Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Negotiation - Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
Operation Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Operations Analysis - Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
Persuasion - Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Quality Control Analysis - Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Science - Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Systems Analysis - Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
Systems Evaluation - Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
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.
English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
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.
Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Flexibility of Closure - The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Mathematical Reasoning - The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Number Facility - The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Originality - The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
Perceptual Speed - The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Selective Attention - The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Visual Color Discrimination - The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
Visualization - The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

Conduct quantitative failure analyses of operational data.
Direct quality control activities.
Monitor the productivity or efficiency of industrial operations.
Evaluate technical data to determine effect on designs or plans.
Test characteristics of materials or structures.
Prepare materials for processing.
Determine operational methods.
Direct design or development activities.
Evaluate plans or specifications to determine technological or environmental implications.
Recommend technical design or process changes to improve efficiency, quality, or performance.
Supervise engineering or other technical personnel.
Prepare detailed work plans.
Confer with technical personnel to prepare designs or operational plans.
Direct industrial production activities.
Resolve operational performance problems.
Train personnel on proper operational procedures.
Prepare operational reports.
Prepare project budgets.
Prepare proposal documents.
Teach classes in area of specialization.
Teach social science courses at the college level.
Present research results to others.
Create models of engineering designs or methods.
Design industrial processing systems.
Write articles, books or other original materials in area of expertise.

Schools

Alfred University

Arizona State University

Auburn University

Boise State University

Boston University

Brown University

Cal Poly Pomona

Cal Poly- San Luis Obispo...

California Institute Of T...

California State Universi...

Carnegie Mellon Universit...

Case Western Reserve Univ...

Cuyahoga Community Colleg...

Florida International Uni...

Georgia Institute Of Tech...

Kettering University

Massachusetts Institute O...

Metropolitan State Univer...

Missouri University Of Sc...

Montgomery College- Rockv...

New Jersey Institute Of T...

New Mexico Institute Of M...

Northwestern University-...

Pennsylvania State Univer...

Stanford University

Stevens Institute Of Tech...

Suny At Stony Brook

University Of Arizona- Co...

University Of California-...

University Of Dayton

University Of Denver

University Of Minnesota-...

University Of New Hampshi...

University Of Texas- Dall...

University Of Texas- El P...

University Of Vermont

Westminster College- Penn...

Williams College

Youngstown State Universi...

Mcgill University

Mcmaster University

Ontario Tech Universit...

Polytechnique Montréal

Queen's University- Ki...

University Of British...

University Of Toronto-...

Potential Scholarships

5 Strong Scholarship

Agnes M. Lindsay Scholars...

- Traditional Fulbright P...

Approx Salary Expectation

Currency:

Low End:

$57,340.00 /yr

Avg/Med:

$93,360.00 /yr

High End:

$148,960.00 /yr

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References

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/.
Trend Analysis - Explorer the Market, Labour Market Information, Government of Canada https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/trend-analysis.
O*NET OnLine, National Center for O*NET Development, https://www.onetonline.org/.