Engineering Management Professionals

Engineering Management is a career that puts together engineering’s technical problem-solving experience and management’s operational, managerial, and planning skills to supervise complex companies from inception to completion. As engineers, engineering managers have practical experience that helps them to apply technical knowledge to a project, but it is equally important that they have the skills to coordinate and direct projects, as well as to manage a range of staff, such as scientists, other engineers, and support staff.

In several engineering fields, engineering managers prepare, organize, and oversee research, development, and production. Job duties for engineering management can include:

1. Supervising the construction of equipment, machinery, goods, or systems
2. Output steering, quality assurance, or maintenance
3. The conception and assessment of the viability of new products or processes
4. Coordination with other divisions, such as leadership, finance, or marketing,

Job Opportunities in Engineering Management

An engineer needs to have outstanding communication and business management skills in addition to technical knowledge in their particular area of engineering to take advantage of the job opportunities available in engineering management. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a significant number of jobs—36 percent—are in manufacturing sectors, while 33 percent are in research, skilled and technical services.

Engineering Management – What the Future may bring

For future engineering managers, the rapidly rising fields of biomedical and environmental engineering offer the most exciting work opportunities. In fields such as pollution control, waste management, recycling, or automotive emissions, environmental engineering managers concentrate on applying engineering expertise to solve environmental problems. In the biomedical sector, engineering management requires managing research and development to solve medical and health-related concerns, whether it is developing new technologies and imaging systems or reviewing processes such as care delivery and medical information systems.

Engineering Management Universities

For the following degree categories, engineering management degrees are currently available:

Associate’s Degree in Engineering Management: An associate’s degree in an engineering-related area is one early phase on the path to an engineering management career. Usually, an associate’s degree prepares you for a career as a technician, but it can also lead to further education, such as a bachelor’s or master’s degree.

Engineering Management Bachelor’s Degree: There are a few choices for undergraduates interested in being engineering managers: a bachelor’s degree in science or a bachelor’s degree in engineering in a particular area such as mechanical engineering, or a bachelor’s degree in science specializing in management science or engineering management. In this case, aspiring engineering managers would need to follow up on their bachelor’s degree for both engineering and management on-the-job experience.

Engineering Management Master’s and Doctoral Degrees: Bachelor’s degree holders may also choose to continue their education and obtain a Master’s Degree in Engineering Management (MEM), a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA), or a Master’s Degree in a related field such as research in operations. In these places, there are also some doctoral degrees available.

Engineering Management Salaries

The U.S. government estimates that the median national annual wage for architectural and engineering managers is $140,760. The 2018-19 Occupational Outlook Handbook of the Bureau of Labor Statistics Actual wages can vary greatly depending on field specialization, venue, years of experience, and some other variables. National long-term employment growth forecasts do not reflect economic or employment conditions at local and/or short-term levels and do not guarantee actual job growth.