Career: Materials Engineers
USDA/Ken Hammond
Did you ever wonder why rubber bands stretch and string doesn’t? Which would help your golf game more, a club with a graphite shaft or one of steel? What makes something waterproof? Would you build a bridge in a cold climate out of the same material as you would in a hot place?
These are the kinds of questions that materials engineers answer. They find -- or make -- the right materials for the job.
Materials engineers find ways to use and improve existing materials and then come up with new ones. They work with metals, ceramics and glass, plastics, and other natural and synthetic materials.
Did You Know?
- Aerogel is one of the world’s newest, lightest, and strongest materials. A pound of aerogel is enough to support a small car.
Are You Ready To...?
- Do lab research
- Study blueprints
- Work carefully and accurately
- Make decisions
- Work as part of a team
- Write reports
It Helps to Be...
A curious math and science fan who loves to solve puzzles. If you like experimenting and inventing, you’ll have lots of fun as a materials engineer.
Make High School Count
- Go for challenging math and science courses, like calculus, physics, and chemistry.
- Take English classes seriously -- you’ll need to be able to read complex material and write about your work for others.
- Sign up for computer science and get a head start on engineering requirements.
- Join an engineering club or get others involved in engineering competitions, such as the one offered by JETS (Junior Engineering Technical Society).
“Every year, fewer than one thousand students receive bachelor’s degrees in [materials engineering]. For this reason and because of the interdisciplinary nature of the field, there are a wide variety of job opportunities.”
Alan Lawley, A.W. Grosvenor Professor of Materials Engineering, Drexel University
Outlook
Government economists expect jobs for materials engineers to grow more slowly than the average for all careers through 2016. You should have the most success if you specialize in new fields like nanotechnology and biotechnology.
Compensation
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the average yearly earnings of materials engineers in 2008 as $84,200.
