Materials Engineering Careers

Materials engineers are involved in the extraction, development, processing, and testing of the materials used to create a diversity of products, from computer chips and television screens to golf clubs and snow skis. They work with metals, ceramics, plastics, semiconductors, and combinations of materials called composites to create new materials that meet certain mechanical, electrical, and chemical requirements. They also are involved in selecting materials for new applications.

There are numerous new developments within materials engineering that make it possible to manipulate and use materials in various ways. For example, materials engineers have developed the ability to create and then study materials at an atomic level using advanced processes, electrons, neutrons, or x-rays and to replicate the characteristics of materials and their components with computers.

Materials engineers specializing in metals can be considered metallurgical engineers, while those specializing in ceramics can be considered ceramic engineers. Most metallurgical engineers work in one of the three main branches of metallurgy-extractive or chemical, physical, and process. Extractive metallurgists are concerned with removing metals from ores and refining and alloying them to obtain useful metal. Physical metallurgists study the nature, structure, and physical properties of metals and their alloys, and relate them to the methods of processing them into final products. Process metallurgists develop and improve metalworking processes such as casting, forging, rolling, and drawing. Ceramic engineers develop ceramic materials and the processes for making ceramic materials into useful products. Ceramics include all nonmetallic, inorganic materials that generally require high temperatures in their processing. Ceramic engineers work on products as diverse as glassware, automobile and aircraft engine components, fiber-optic communication lines, tile, and electric insulators.

Materials engineers held about 33,000 jobs in 2000. Because materials are building blocks for other goods, materials engineers are widely distributed among manufacturing industries. In fact, 84 percent of materials engineers worked in manufacturing industries, primarily metal production and processing, electronic and other electrical equipment, transportation equipment, and industrial machinery and equipment. They also worked in services industries such as engineering and management and research and testing services. Most remaining materials engineers worked for Federal and State governments.

Materials engineers, including mining safety engineers, are expected to have employment growth about as fast as the average for all occupations through 2014. Although many of the manufacturing industries in which materials engineers are concentrated are expected to experience declining employment, materials engineers still will be needed to develop new materials for electronics, biotechnology, and plastics products. Growth should be particularly strong for materials engineers working on nanomaterials and biomaterials. As manufacturing firms contract for their materials engineering needs, employment growth is expected in professional, scientific, and technical services industries.

According to a 2005 salary survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, bachelor's degree candidates in materials engineering received starting offers averaging $50,982 a year.

• The Minerals, Metals, & Materials Society
• ASM International Foundation