Aerospace
Agriculture & Biosystems
Biomedical
Chemical
Civil
Computer Science
Electrical
Environmental
Industrial
Manufacturing
Materials Science
Mechanical
Mining & Metallurgical
Nuclear
Petroleum
Project Management
Manufacturing Engineering
As a manufacturing engineer, you and your team will use technical expertise and skill to plan, design, set up, modify, optimize and then monitor the manufacturing process of such things as medicine, food, and oil. From raw materials to the finished product, you’ll work to improve the production process, using the most cost-effective methods while reducing the impact of production on the environment. Manufacturing engineers are designers, who combine their analytical and creative problem-solving skills to work across many industries.
Meet Caroline, an engineer at UL whose job has included throwing, breaking and lighting things on fire!
Manufacturing Engineering Overview1
$88,950
Median salary
292,000
Number of jobs in 2020
14%
Expected job growth over next 10 years
Jobs and education
4-year degree:
- Streamlining a factory to make better jeans, baseballs, or bike helmets
- Designing a process to eliminate waste in the production process
Researching new methods to mass produce life-saving medical devices
2-year degree:
- Repair a broken conveyor belt in a candy factory.
- Help keep the welding robots on a car assembly line moving.
Manufacturing Engineering Activities
Product Dissection
Take a device apart—can you figure out how it works and put it back together?
Conveyor Belt
Make a 4-foot long conveyor belt that takes candy around a 90 degree curve.
References:
1. US Bureau of Labor Satistics
https://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/industrial-engineers.htm
